Investigating How Temperature Shapes Salt Perception. - Project Summary/Abstract The consumption of food and beverages is highly dependent on the initial sensation and the response it evokes. This sensa- tion arises within the mouth and involves the integration of intra-oral gustatory, olfactory (retronasal), and somatosensory cues in a single percept called flavor. Research over the years has extensively evaluated the behavioral and physiological correlates of one of these intra-oral sensory components – taste – which originates when chemical compounds stimulate specialized chemoreceptors within the oral cavity. Most of what is known about the neural and perceptual substrates of taste originates from studies in which stimuli are experienced at a single temperature. While this approach has shaped our understanding of the role of gustation, it provides only a partial picture of the functional features of the gustatory system. In natural conditions, chemicals present in food and beverages are rarely experienced at a single-fixed temperature. Temperature is a salient cue that can influence the sensory attributes of food and the perceived intensity of taste qualities relevant for food and beverage preferences and nutrition. Thus, based on the serving temperature, we might alter the amount of certain ingredients to match our preference leading to over/under consumption of certain food elements. This is particularly relevant in the case of table salt (NaCl). This could result in a diet high in sodium which can cause serious health consequences such as high blood pressure, stroke, and other cardiovascular issues that can increase the risk of, or even cause, death. Therefore, the primary objective of this proposal is to explore the impact of temperature on salt taste perception and its neural processing in the cortex of behaving mice. The first aim involves a behavioral study to determine how temperature affects the ability to discriminate the taste quality of NaCl and KCl. The second aim will employ electrophysiological techniques to investigate the influence of temperature on the cortical representation of salt taste, particularly regarding its intensity and quality aspects. This research is designed to lay a foundational understanding of how thermal and taste stimuli, commonly encountered in food and beverages, are integrated. Altogether, the results obtained from this proposal will expand the current knowledge on thermogustation, and will provide a comprehensive behavioral and neural investigation on how temperature operates on sensory processes associated with taste.
