Abstract
Attempts to define the organization of the taste system in terms of the physical characteristics of stimuli have been largely unsuccessuful. We recorded taste-evoked neural activity in the rat's hindbrain and determined that stimuli could be effectively organized along a physiological dimension which corresponds to stimulus toxicity. Taste is a visceral sense that mediates between the external and internal chemical environments. Its responsiveness to a wide range of chemicals and its organization along a dimension which promotes the organism's physiological welfare ideally suit it to that purpose.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 197-203 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Brain research |
Volume | 414 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 23 1987 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Electrophysiology
- LD
- Multidimensional scaling
- Nucleus tractus solitarius
- Sensory coding
- Taste
- Toxicity
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General Neuroscience
- Molecular Biology
- Clinical Neurology
- Developmental Biology