Neurobehavioral plasticity in the rodent gustatory system induced by regular consumption of a low-calorie sweetener during adolescence.

ABSTRACT: Habitual consumption of low-calorie sweeteners (LCS) during juvenile-adolescence can lead to greater sugar intake later in life. Here, we investigated if exposure to the LCS Acesulfame Potassium (Ace-K) during this critical period of development reprograms the taste system in a way that would alter hedonic responding for common dietary compounds. Results revealed that early-life LCS intake not only enhanced the avidity for a caloric sugar (fructose) when rats were in a state of caloric need, it increased acceptance of a bitterant (quinine) in Ace-K-exposed rats tested when middle-aged. These behavior shifts, which endured months after the end of Ace-K exposure, were accompanied by widespread changes in the peripheral taste system. The anterior tongue had fewer fungiform taste papillae, and

SUBMITTER: Mathes CM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11742420 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature