|
|
||||||||
University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611
We tested whether the recovered ability of rats to discriminate NaCl from KCl after chorda tympani nerve transection (CTX) is causally linked to nerve regeneration or some other compensatory process. Rats were presurgically trained in an operant NaCl vs. KCl discrimination task. Rats with regenerated nerves, histologically confirmed by anterior tongue taste pore counts and tested 62 days after CTX (CTX-62R; n = 5), performed as well as those tested 62 days after sham surgery (Sham-62; n = 5), but both of these groups initially performed slightly worse than animals tested 7 days after sham surgery (Sham-7; n = 4). Performance of rats tested either 7 (CTX-7P; n = 5) or 62 (CTX-62P; n = 4) days after CTX in which nerve regeneration was prevented was severely disrupted. Adulteration of the stimuli with amiloride, an epithelial sodium channel blocker, impaired discrimination performance in a similar dose-dependent manner in the Sham-7 (n = 2), Sham-62 (n = 5), and CTX-62R (n = 5) groups, suggesting that the functional status of the amiloride-sensitive transduction pathway returns to normal in rats with regenerated chorda tympani nerves. Performance of CTX rats without regenerated nerves (CTX-7P, n = 2; CTX-62P, n = 4) was further degraded by amiloride treatment, suggesting that taste receptors innervated by other nerves are sensitive to amiloride. In conclusion, nerve regeneration is an essential component underlying full recovery of salt discrimination function after CTX.
sodium chloride; potassium chloride; amiloride; functional recovery; animal psychophysics
This article has been cited by other articles:
![]() |
N. R. Kinzeler and S. P. Travers Licking and gaping elicited by microstimulation of the nucleus of the solitary tract Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, August 1, 2008; 295(2): R436 - R448. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. T. King, M. Garcea, D. S. Stolzenberg, and A. C. Spector Experimentally cross-wired lingual taste nerves can restore normal unconditioned gaping behavior in response to quinine stimulation Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, March 1, 2008; 294(3): R738 - R747. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. H. Lemon and D. V. Smith Influence of response variability on the coding performance of central gustatory neurons. J. Neurosci., July 12, 2006; 26(28): 7433 - 7443. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Eylam and A. C. Spector Taste discrimination between NaCl and KCl is disrupted by amiloride in inbred mice with amiloride-insensitive chorda tympani nerves Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, May 1, 2005; 288(5): R1361 - R1368. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. C. Geran, M. Garcea, and A. C. Spector Nerve regeneration-induced recovery of quinine avoidance after complete gustatory deafferentation of the tongue Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, November 1, 2004; 287(5): R1235 - R1243. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. Eylam and A. C. Spector Oral Amiloride Treatment Decreases Taste Sensitivity to Sodium Salts in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J Mice Chem Senses, June 1, 2003; 28(5): 447 - 458. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
S. J. St. John, M. Garcea, and A. C. Spector The Time Course of Taste Bud Regeneration after Glossopharyngeal or Greater Superficial Petrosal Nerve Transection in Rats Chem Senses, January 1, 2003; 28(1): 33 - 43. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
L. C. Geran, M. Garcea, and A. C. Spector Transecting the gustatory branches of the facial nerve impairs NH4Cl vs. KCl discrimination in rats Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, September 1, 2002; 283(3): R739 - R747. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
A. C. Spector and S. L. Kopka Rats Fail to Discriminate Quinine from Denatonium: Implications for the Neural Coding of Bitter-Tasting Compounds J. Neurosci., March 1, 2002; 22(5): 1937 - 1941. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
![]() |
C. T. King, M. Garcea, and A. C. Spector Glossopharyngeal Nerve Regeneration Is Essential for the Complete Recovery of Quinine-Stimulated Oromotor Rejection Behaviors and Central Patterns of Neuronal Activity in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract in the Rat J. Neurosci., November 15, 2000; 20(22): 8426 - 8434. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
||||
| HOME | HELP | FEEDBACK | SUBSCRIPTIONS | ARCHIVE | SEARCH | TABLE OF CONTENTS |
| Visit Other APS Journals Online |