Award
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders 5R01DC020465-04
The Neural Organization of Taste Neophobia
Recipient
University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN
Award Amount
$385,000.00
Ceiling
$385,000.00
Awarded
June 30, 2025
Identifier
5R01DC020465-04
Research project funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to study neural mechanisms of taste neophobia using calcium imaging and chemogenetics in animals.
Description
This project aims to understand how information about taste novelty and familiarity is encoded in central gustatory circuits, hypothesizing that Neophobia responses are driven by enhanced activity in gustatory cortex and thalamus, mediated by cholinergic activity from basal forebrain inputs. Calcium imaging and chemogenetic manipulation will be used in awake animals to explore these neural responses.