Taste in the brain is encoded by sensorimotor state changes
Patricia M. Di Lorenzo
Abstract
Taste coding theories in the central nervous system have largely been based on those derived from peripheral structures. Two of these, the labeled line and across unit pattern theories, have both been applied to taste-related structures in the brain, with disappointing results. Recent work has underscored the influence of sensory modalities other than taste in every brain region in the gustatory pathway. In addition, neurons appear to track taste-related behavior, suggesting that the taste system is essentially sensorimotor, rather than exclusively sensory. Thus, when food enters the mouth, neural activity in taste-related structures across the brain is coordinated by its multimodal sensory and taste-driven motor components. This widespread alignment of activity can be thought of as a sensory acquisition ‘state’ that can be influenced by metabolic and attentional variables while maintaining the core purpose of the system, that is, to identify and consume food.