GUSTATORY THALAMUS AND TASTE GUIDED BEHAVIOR

目前这项提议的长期目标是阐明味觉丘脑在味觉引导行为中的作用。这项拟议的研究旨在调查这样一种假设，即味觉丘脑主要参与味觉引导行为的复杂准备方面，而不是消费方面。准备阶段由复杂的感知和认知策略组成，这些策略指导环境寻找潜在的食物来源；相比之下，消费阶段(由后脑提供服务)涉及食物与嘴巴接触时的饮食反应。三个系列的实验将使用电生理引导下的大鼠味觉丘脑的鹅掌酸损伤进行。特定目标数1的实验旨在通过检查复杂的味觉信息处理任务的表现来确定病变诱导的高阶联想学习缺陷的性质，这类似地涉及后天获得的味觉厌恶强度的调节。通过检查仪器对比程序的性能，在特定目标2中提出的研究将确定味觉丘脑是否作为一种一般的奖赏比较机制发挥作用，从而病变扰乱涉及味觉奖赏的所有形式的对比效应。最后，特定目标编号3的实验将确定在丘脑味觉区域受损的大鼠中发现的对比缺陷是否源于潜在的味觉记忆障碍。本申请中提出的研究结果将显著提高我们对大鼠丘脑味觉区域信息处理作用(S)的理解。

The long-term objective of the current proposal is to elucidate the role of the gustatory thalamus in taste-guided behavior. The proposed research is intended to investigate the hypothesis that the gustatory thalamus is primarily involved with sophisticated preparatory, but not the consummatory, aspects of taste-guided behavior. The preparatory phase consists of complex perceptual and cognitive strategies that guide the environmental search for potential food sources; the consummatory phase (served by the hindbrain), by comparison, involves eating and drinking responses once food makes contact with the mouth. Three series of experiment will be undertaken using rats with electrophysiologically guided ibotenic acid lesions of the gustatory thalamus. The experiments of Specific Aim number 1 are intended to determine the nature of the lesion-induced higher-order associative learning deficit by examining performance on complex taste information processing tasks which similarly involve the modulation of the strength of an acquired gustatory aversion. By examining performance on instrumental contrast procedures, the research proposed in Specific Aim number 2 will determine if the gustatory thalamus functions as a general reward comparison mechanism such that lesions disrupt all forms of contrast effects involving gustatory rewards. Finally, the experiments of Specific Aim number 3 will determine if the contrast deficits found in rats with lesions of the thalamic taste area result from an underlying dysfunction of gustatory memory. The results of the research proposed in this application will significantly enhance our understanding of the information processing role(s) of the thalamic taste area of the rat.