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Published on: May 5, 2015
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Gustatory and olfactory-guided responsiveness to maltodextrin solutions in mice.
Elizabeth A Hamel1, Ginger D Blonde1, Ellie Williams1
1Department of Psychology and Program in Neuroscience, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States.
Summary
Mice require intact gustatory nerves to respond normally to maltodextrins, a common food ingredient. While mice can detect maltodextrins via smell, taste signals are crucial for their preference.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Sensory Biology
- Gustation
Background:
- Maltodextrins are widely used in food production but are often considered tasteless and odorless.
- Previous research suggests oligosaccharides, like maltodextrins, may elicit a unique oral perception distinct from basic tastes in humans and rodents.
- Mice lacking specific taste receptor subunits (T1R2 + T1R3) show reduced sugar responsiveness but maintain maltodextrin preference, suggesting a non-sweet taste pathway is involved.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of gustatory (taste) signaling in mediating the behavioral response to maltodextrins in mice.
- To determine if taste perception is necessary for normal licking responses to maltodextrins and sucrose.
- To explore the contribution of gustatory nerves to maltodextrin responsiveness, independent of postingestive factors.
Main Methods:
- Lingual gustatory nerve transection (NX) was performed on wild-type (WT) and T1R3 knockout (KO) mice.
- Mice underwent a brief-access licking test to assess concentration-dependent responses to maltodextrin (Maltrin) and sucrose after fasting.
- A follow-up experiment used a Go/No-Go task to evaluate olfactory detection of maltodextrin volatiles.
Main Results:
- Nerve transection (NX) significantly blunted licking responses to both maltodextrin and sucrose in mice.
- NX mice initiated fewer trials with maltodextrin, indicating reduced responsiveness.
- While KO mice showed some sucrose licking (potentially from flavor-nutrient learning), NX abolished this responsiveness, confirming the necessity of gustatory input.
Conclusions:
- Intact chorda tympani and/or glossopharyngeal nerves are essential for normal ingestive behavior towards maltodextrin and sucrose solutions in mice.
- Gustatory signals significantly contribute to the hedonic responsiveness to maltodextrins.
- Mice can detect maltodextrin via olfactory cues, which may aid in flavor-nutrient conditioning, but taste is the primary unconditional driver of preference.
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