Presentation Details
AChemS Undergrad Finalist: Optimizing Surgical Access to the Nodose Petrosal Ganglia �

Hanna R.Rodriguez, Hojoon Lee.

Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA

Abstract


The sense of taste provides more information to our body than the mere identification of the food we eat. In mammals, taste serves as an indicator of pleasure, a mechanism of survival, and a way to evaluate the nutritional content of food. Taste begins at the tongue, where taste buds, each containing taste receptor cells (TRCs) can be found. Taste buds are distributed within three papillae:The circumvallate and foliate papillae are found at the posterior portion of the tongue, housing TRCs innervated by nerve fibers originating from the petrosal nodose jugular (PNJ) ganglia;fungiform papillae are found at the anterior portion of the tongue and receive projections from the geniculate ganglia. However, it is still unknown how the taste ganglion neurons connect to the taste cells on the tongue. To address this, we optimized surgical access to the PNJ ganglion to enable direct labeling and manipulation of the first order taste neurons. Here, as proof of principle, we will present results from direct delivery and infection of AAV viral vectors in the PNJ showing selective labeling of these neurons and their projections with tdTomato red fluorescent protein. Thus, understanding how information is relayed by the peripheral taste system is the first step in uncovering the mechanisms that drive behavioral responses to taste.

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