Recognizing taste: coding patterns along the neural axis in mammals.

Recognizing taste: coding patterns along the neural axis in mammals. Chem Senses. 2019 Feb 20;: Authors: Ohla K, Yoshida R, Roper SD, Di Lorenzo PM, Victor JD, Boughter JD, Fletcher M, Katz DB, Chaudhari N Abstract The gustatory system encodes information about chemical identity, nutritional value, and concentration of sensory stimuli before transmitting the signal from taste buds to central neurons that process and transform the signal. Deciphering the coding logic for taste quality requires examining responses at each level along the neural axis - from peripheral sensory organs to gustatory cortex. From the earliest single fiber recordings, it was clear that some afferent neurons respond uniquely, others to stimuli of multiple qualities.  There is frequently a "best stimulus" for a given neuron, leading to the suggestion that taste exhibits "labeled line coding". In the extreme, a strict "labeled line" requires neurons and pathways dedicated to single qualities (e.g. sweet, bitter, etc.). At the other end of the spectrum, "across-fiber", "combinatorial", or "ensemble" coding requires minimal specific information to be imparted by a single neuron. Instead, taste quality information is encoded by simultaneous activity in ensembles of afferent fibers. Further, "temporal coding" models have proposed that certain features of taste quality may be embedded in the cadence of impulse activity. Taste receptor proteins are often expressed in...
Source: Chemical Senses - Category: Biochemistry Authors: Tags: Chem Senses Source Type: research