Research enabled by the Zuckerman Institute’s Cellular Imaging Platform

Top-Down Control of Sweet and Bitter Taste in the Mammalian Brain
UltraMicroscopeII Cellular Imaging ZI UltraMicroscopeII Cellular Imaging ZI

Top-Down Control of Sweet and Bitter Taste in the Mammalian Brain

Hao Jin, Hershel Fishman, Mingyu Ye, Li Wang and Charles S. Zuker. (2021) Cell

Highlights

  • Sweet and bitter are represented in the brainstem by genetically distinct neurons

  • SST+ and CALB2+ neurons in the brainstem carry bitter and sweet signals to the cortex

  • Feedback from bitter cortex amplifies bitter but suppresses incoming sweet taste signals

  • Cortical feedback via amygdala ensures bitter-evoked behavioral aversion remains robust

This project used the UltraMicroscopeII Light Sheet Microscope for imaging brain cleared using the CUBIC protocol.

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