Overlapping Representation of Primary Tastes in a Defined Region of the Gustatory Cortex

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0649-17.2017
• Publication Date: 2017-07-04T00:50:15Z
• Authors: Max L. Fletcher; M. Cameron Ogg; Lianyi Lu; Robert J. Ogg; John D. Boughter
• Keywords: Insular cortex

Both physiological and imaging approaches have led to often-disparate conclusions about the organization of taste information in gustatory cortex (GC). In this study, we used neuroanatomical delineate likely area insular given function characterize responses within delineated female male C57BL/6J mice. Anterograde tracers were injected into thalamus (the medial parvicellular portion ventral posterior division, VPMpc) mice thalamic terminal field was investigated across cortex. Working area, two-photon measure basic &gt;780 neurons layer 2/3 located just middle cerebral artery. A nonbiased, hierarchical cluster analysis revealed multiple clusters cells responding best either individual or combinations stimuli. Taste quality represented activity taste-responsive cells; however, there no apparent spatial primary qualities region. <b>SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT</b> Recent studies investigating coding reported highly segregated, taste-specific regions containing only narrowly tuned a single separated by large non-taste-coding areas. However, focusing on center found number responsive ranging from broadly with local organization. Further, population reveals that neuronal appears be related measures hedonics.