Perturbation of amygdala-cortical projections reduces ensemble coherence of palatability coding in gustatory cortex.

ABSTRACT: Taste palatability is centrally involved in consumption decisions-we ingest foods that taste good and reject those that don't. Gustatory cortex (GC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) almost certainly work together to mediate palatability-driven behavior, but the precise nature of their interplay during taste decision-making is still unknown. To probe this issue, we discretely perturbed (with optogenetics) activity in rats' BLA→GC axons during taste deliveries. This perturbation strongly altered GC taste responses, but while the perturbation itself was tonic (2.5 s), the alterations were not-changes preferentially aligned with the onset times of previously-described taste response epochs, and reduced evidence of palatability-related activity in the 'late-epoch' of the responses without reducin

SUBMITTER: Lin JY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8139825 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature