Search
Presentation Details
| Poster #Cortex Locus Coeruleus Noradrenergic Modulation of Cortical Taste Processing |
| Will Fan & Natale R. Sciolino University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT, United States |
Neuromodulatory systems adaptively regulate the computations performed by neural circuits, yet their involvement in central taste processing is largely unexplored. The primary gustatory cortex (GC) receives a prominent neuromodulatory input from noradrenergic neurons in the locus coeruleus (LC), which plays a well-established role in shaping sensory perception. LC neurons exhibit phasic firing in response to salient events and elevated tonic activity in stressed or high-arousal states. To investigate how phasic and tonic LC activity influences GC taste processing, we used miniscope calcium imaging to record taste-evoked responses of GC neurons while optogenetically activating LC axons using different stimulation patterns. We found that activation of LC axons produced heterogeneous changes in the response dynamics of a subset of GC neurons, reshaping their taste response profiles. Assessment of response sparseness, taste quality encoding, and palatability encoding revealed that LC’s modulatory effects depend on its activity pattern. Specifically, phasic LC output tended to enhance taste encoding, whereas elevated tonic LC output impaired it. These findings highlight the intricacy of neuromodulation in sensory systems and the flexibility of cortical taste processing, offering new insights into how behavioral states shape food perception. |