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Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus

Taste-responsive neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), the first gustatory nucleus, often respond to thermal or mechanical stimulation. Alcohol, not a typical taste modality, is a rewarding stimulus. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ethanol (EtOH) and/or temperatur...

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Autores principales: Li, Cheng-Shu, Chung, Ki-Myung, Kim, Kyung-Nyun, Cho, Young-Kyung
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The Korean Physiological Society and The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8552825/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34697271
http://dx.doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2021.25.6.603
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author Li, Cheng-Shu
Chung, Ki-Myung
Kim, Kyung-Nyun
Cho, Young-Kyung
author_facet Li, Cheng-Shu
Chung, Ki-Myung
Kim, Kyung-Nyun
Cho, Young-Kyung
author_sort Li, Cheng-Shu
collection PubMed
description Taste-responsive neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), the first gustatory nucleus, often respond to thermal or mechanical stimulation. Alcohol, not a typical taste modality, is a rewarding stimulus. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ethanol (EtOH) and/or temperature as stimuli to the tongue on the activity of taste-responsive neurons in hamster NST. In the first set of experiments, we recorded the activity of 113 gustatory NST neurons in urethane-anesthetized hamsters and evaluated responses to four basic taste stimuli, 25% EtOH, and 40°C and 4°C distilled water (dH(2)O). Sixty cells responded to 25% EtOH, with most of them also being sucrose sensitive. The response to 25% EtOH was significantly correlated with the sucrose-evoked response. A significant correlation was also observed between sucrose- and 40°C dH(2)O- and between 25% EtOH- and 40°C dH(2)O-evoked firings. In a subset of the cells, we evaluated neuronal activities in response to a series of EtOH concentrations, alone and in combination with 32 mM sucrose (EtOH/Suc) at room temperature (RT, 22°C–23°C), 40°C, and 4°C. Neuronal responses to EtOH at RT and 40°C increased as the concentrations increased. The firing rates to EtOH/Suc were greater than those to EtOH or sucrose alone. The responses were enhanced when solutions were applied at 40°C but diminished at 4°C. In summary, EtOH activates most sucrose-responsive NST gustatory cells, and the concomitant presence of sucrose or warm temperatures enhance this response. Our findings may contribute to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying appetitive alcohol consumption.
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spelling pubmed-85528252021-11-10 Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus Li, Cheng-Shu Chung, Ki-Myung Kim, Kyung-Nyun Cho, Young-Kyung Korean J Physiol Pharmacol Original Article Taste-responsive neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST), the first gustatory nucleus, often respond to thermal or mechanical stimulation. Alcohol, not a typical taste modality, is a rewarding stimulus. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effects of ethanol (EtOH) and/or temperature as stimuli to the tongue on the activity of taste-responsive neurons in hamster NST. In the first set of experiments, we recorded the activity of 113 gustatory NST neurons in urethane-anesthetized hamsters and evaluated responses to four basic taste stimuli, 25% EtOH, and 40°C and 4°C distilled water (dH(2)O). Sixty cells responded to 25% EtOH, with most of them also being sucrose sensitive. The response to 25% EtOH was significantly correlated with the sucrose-evoked response. A significant correlation was also observed between sucrose- and 40°C dH(2)O- and between 25% EtOH- and 40°C dH(2)O-evoked firings. In a subset of the cells, we evaluated neuronal activities in response to a series of EtOH concentrations, alone and in combination with 32 mM sucrose (EtOH/Suc) at room temperature (RT, 22°C–23°C), 40°C, and 4°C. Neuronal responses to EtOH at RT and 40°C increased as the concentrations increased. The firing rates to EtOH/Suc were greater than those to EtOH or sucrose alone. The responses were enhanced when solutions were applied at 40°C but diminished at 4°C. In summary, EtOH activates most sucrose-responsive NST gustatory cells, and the concomitant presence of sucrose or warm temperatures enhance this response. Our findings may contribute to elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying appetitive alcohol consumption. The Korean Physiological Society and The Korean Society of Pharmacology 2021-11-01 2021-11-01 /pmc/articles/PMC8552825/ /pubmed/34697271 http://dx.doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2021.25.6.603 Text en Copyright © Korean J Physiol Pharmacol https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) ) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Article
Li, Cheng-Shu
Chung, Ki-Myung
Kim, Kyung-Nyun
Cho, Young-Kyung
Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
title Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
title_full Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
title_fullStr Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
title_full_unstemmed Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
title_short Influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
title_sort influences of ethanol and temperature on sucrose-evoked response of gustatory neurons in the hamster solitary nucleus
topic Original Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8552825/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34697271
http://dx.doi.org/10.4196/kjpp.2021.25.6.603
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