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Related Experiment Videos

Alcohol activates a sucrose-responsive gustatory neural pathway.

Christian H Lemon1, Susan M Brasser, David V Smith

  • 1Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, 855 Monroe Ave., Suite 515, Memphis, TN 38163, USA. chris@utmem.edu

Journal of Neurophysiology
|February 27, 2004
PubMed
Summary

Alcohol and sugar activate similar taste pathways in the brain. This study shows that sweet taste receptors are involved in how we perceive alcohol taste, impacting its reward properties.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Sensory Biology
  • Taste Perception

Background:

  • A link exists between alcohol and sweet tastes, but neural mechanisms are unclear.
  • Recent evidence suggests gustatory (taste) systems play a role in alcohol's sensory properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of sweet taste receptors and central neural circuits in processing ethanol (alcohol) taste.
  • To determine if sweet taste pathways contribute to the neural representation of alcohol.

Main Methods:

  • Recorded neural responses to ethanol and various taste stimuli in rat brain.
  • Utilized a sweet receptor blocker (gurmarin) to assess its effect on taste responses.
  • Compared neural activity between sucrose-responsive and sucrose-unresponsive neurons.

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  • Employed multivariate analysis to explore the central neural representation of ethanol taste.

    • Main Results:

    • Ethanol evoked concentration-dependent responses in neurons responsive to sucrose, which were significantly larger than in other neurons.
    • Gurmarin selectively blocked both ethanol and sucrose responses, but not responses to salt, acid, or bitter stimuli.
    • Neural response patterns to ethanol closely resembled those of sucrose, especially at higher concentrations.

    Conclusions:

    • Sweet taste receptors are likely involved in detecting ethanol.
    • Alcohol and sugar taste share similar neural representations in the central nervous system.
    • Findings suggest implications for the sensory appeal and reward value of alcoholic beverages.