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Interconnected sub-networks of the macaque monkey gustatory connectome
Renée Hartig1,2,3,4, Ali Karimi5, Henry C Evrard1,2,4,6
1Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
|March 6, 2023
Summary
Researchers mapped the macaque monkey gustatory connectome, revealing a tri-modular network for taste processing. This brain network shows strong connectivity for sour and salty tastes, with distinct regional importance.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Systems Neuroscience
- Connectomics
Background:
- Understanding macroscopic taste processing connectivity is crucial for deciphering sensory integration and effector pathway interactions.
- The primate gustatory system involves complex interactions between sensory, integrative, and motor areas.
- Previous research has not fully elucidated the network architecture of taste processing at a macroscopic level.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional connectivity of the gustatory system in macaque monkeys using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
- To characterize the organization of the gustatory connectome, including its laterality, modularity, and centrality.
- To identify sub-networks within the gustatory connectome and their relationship to taste quality processing.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed in anesthetized macaque monkeys during the presentation of sour, salty, and sweet tastants.
- Fifty-eight brain regions associated with gustatory processing were aggregated to form the gustatory connectome.
- Functional connectivity was inferred by correlating regional regression coefficients (β-series) and analyzed using community detection, laterality, modularity, and centrality measures.
Main Results:
- A bilaterally interconnected scheme for taste processing was identified across the gustatory connectome.
- Three bilateral sub-networks were detected: medial cortical (16 regions), lateral (24 regions), and subcortical (18 regions).
- Network connectivity was strongest for sour and salty tastants, while response amplitude was greatest for sweet; regional centrality correlated across hemispheres and with region volume, with a leftward increase in insular cortex centrality.
Conclusions:
- The macaque monkey gustatory connectome exhibits quantifiable characteristics and is organized as a tri-modular network.
- This organization may reflect the general medial-lateral-subcortical organization of salience and interoception processing networks.
- The findings provide insights into the large-scale neural architecture underlying taste perception and integration.
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