Gustatory insular cortex.pdf (811.08 kB)
Gustatory insular cortex, aversive taste memory and taste neophobia
journal contribution
posted on 2016-01-28, 00:00 authored by J.-Y. Lin, J. Arthurs, S. ReillyPrior research indicates a role for the gustatory insular cortex (GC) in taste neophobia.
Rats with lesions of the GC show much weaker avoidance to a novel and potentially
dangerous taste than do neurologically intact animals. The current study used the
retention of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) as a tool to determine whether the GC
modulates neophobia by processing taste novelty or taste danger. The results show that
GC lesions attenuate CTA retention (Experiment 1) and impair taste neophobia
(Experiment 2). Given that normal CTA retention does not involve the processing of
taste novelty, the pattern of results suggests that the GC is involved in taste neophobia
via its function in processing the danger conveyed by a taste stimulus.