Transecting the gustatory branches of the facial nerve impairs NH4Cl vs. KCl discrimination in rats
| Autor: | Laura C. Geran, Alan C. Spector, Mircea Garcea |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2002 |
| Předmět: |
Male
Taste medicine.medical_specialty Physiology Potassium chemistry.chemical_element Ammonium Chloride Potassium Chloride Amiloride Rats Sprague-Dawley chemistry.chemical_compound Discrimination Psychological Physiology (medical) Internal medicine medicine Animals Ammonium Diuretics Taste quality Chemistry Water Anatomy Denervation Facial nerve Rats Endocrinology Chorda Tympani Nerve Signal transduction Transduction (physiology) medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 283:R739-R747 |
| ISSN: | 1522-1490 0363-6119 |
| DOI: | 10.1152/ajpregu.00103.2002 |
| Popis: | Ammonium and potassium chloride share a common taste quality and an amiloride-insensitive route of transduction. An amiloride-sensitive pathway might also be partially activated by these salts, although very few studies have reported effects of amiloride on nonsodium salt perception. This experiment was designed to determine 1) whether rats could discriminate KCl from NH4Cl and, if discrimination was evident, whether performance was impaired with 2) amiloride or 3) gustatory nerve transection. Rats were trained to discriminate KCl from NH4Cl ( n = 8) and NaCl from NH4Cl ( n = 8). Amiloride (100 μM) impaired NaCl vs. NH4Cl but not KCl vs. NH4Cl performance, whereas both groups showed significant impairments after transection of the chorda tympani (CT) and greater superficial petrosal (GSP) branches of the facial nerve. This suggests that rats can discriminate between KCl and NH4Cl and that this discrimination does not rely on an amiloride-sensitive mechanism but does depend on the CT and/or GSP nerves. This experiment supports the hypothesis that the facial nerve is important for salt taste recognition and discrimination. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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