Gustatory nucleus

Gustatory nucleus
Details
PartsA component of the solitary nucleus
FunctionAssisting in food identification.
Identifiers
NeuroNames1386
Anatomical terms of neuroanatomy
Location of structures connected to the gustatory nucleus
Basic neuroanatomy of the gustatory system.
Different taste receptors in the tongue and their connections to afferent neurons.

The gustatory nucleus is the rostral part of the solitary nucleus located in the medulla oblongata. The gustatory nucleus is associated with the sense of taste[1] and has two sections, the rostral and lateral regions.[2] A close association between the gustatory nucleus and visceral information exists for this function in the gustatory system, assisting in homeostasis - via the identification of food that might be possibly poisonous or harmful for the body.[3] There are many gustatory nuclei in the brain stem. Each of these nuclei corresponds to three cranial nerves, the facial nerve (VII), the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX), and the vagus nerve (X) [3] and GABA is the primary inhibitory neurotransmitter involved in its functionality.[4] All visceral afferents in the vagus and glossopharyngeal nerves first arrive in the nucleus of the solitary tract and information from the gustatory system can then be relayed to the thalamus and cortex.[5]

The central axons on primary sensory neurons in the taste system in the cranial nerve ganglia connect to lateral and rostral regions of the nucleus of the solitary tract which is located in the medulla and is also known as the gustatory nucleus.[3] The most pronounced gustatory nucleus is the rostral cap of the nucleus solitarius which is located at the ponto-medullary junction. Afferent taste fibers from the facial and from the facial and glossopharyngeal nerves are sent to the nucleus solitarius. The gustatory system then sends information to the thalamus which ultimately sends information to the cerebral cortex.

Each nucleus from the gustatory system can contain networks of interconnected neurons that can help regulate the firing rates of one another.[6] Fishes (specifically channel catfish), have been used to study the structure, mechanism for activation and its integrated with the solitary nucleus. The secondary gustatory nucleus contains three subnucleic structures: a medial, central and dorsal subnucleus (with the central and dorsal positioned in the rostral area of the secondary gustatory nucleus).[7]

Furthermore, the gustatory nucleus is connected via the pons to the thalamocortical system consisting of the hypothalamus and the amygdala.[6] These connections can stimulate appetite, satisfaction, and other homeostatic responses that have to do with eating.[3] Distributed throughout the dorsal epithelium of the tongue, soft palate, pharynx, and upper part of the esophagus are taste buds that contain taste cells, which are peripheral receptors involved in gustatory system and react to chemical stimuli.[3] Different sections of the tongue are innervated with the three cranial nerves. The facial nerve (VII) innervates the anterior two-thirds of the tongue, the glossopharyngeal nerve (IX) innervates the posterior one-third and the vagus nerve (X) innervates the epiglottis.[8]

The study of the nucleus usually involves model organisms like fish, hamsters, and mice.[7][9][10] Studies with humans involve MRIs and PET scan.[2][11] A study done on monkeys found that when a given food is consumed to the point that a monkey is full and satisfied, specific orbitofrontal neurons in the monkey direct their firing towards that stimulus which indicates that these neurons are used in motivating one to eat as well as not to eat. In addition, the gustatory system has been greatly studied in some cyprinoid and cobitoid fish species because of their enormously hypertrophied peripheral gustatory nerves. The major difference between the gustatory neural structure of the fish and the rat is that the secondary gustatory nucleus of the fish projects to the interior lobe's lateral lobule of the diencephalon, while in the rat, the secondary gustatory nucleus projects to a specific thalamic area in the ventrobasal complex and to the ventral forebrain and rostroventral diencephalon.[5]

  1. ^ "Anatomy 530a at UWO (Functional Neuroanatomy)".
  2. ^ a b Purves, Dale; Augustine, George; Fitzpatrick, David; Hall, William; LaMantia, Anthony-Samuel; White, Leonard (2012). Neuroscience Fifth Edition. Sunderland, Massachusetts: Sinauer Associates, Inc. p. 341. ISBN 978-0-87893-695-3.
  3. ^ a b c d e Purves, Dale; Augustine, George J.; Fitzpatrick, David; Katz, Lawrence C.; LaMantia, Anthony-Samuel; McNamara, James O.; Williams, S. Mark (2001). "The Organization of the Taste System". Neuroscience. 2nd Edition.
  4. ^ Grabauskas G, Bradley RM (November 1998). "Ionic mechanism of GABAA biphasic synaptic potentials in gustatory nucleus of the solitary tract". Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 855 (1): 486–487. Bibcode:1998NYASA.855..486G. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1998.tb10610.x. PMID 9929643. S2CID 27455499.
  5. ^ a b Norgren, Ralph; Leonard, Christiana M. (1973-07-15). "Ascending central gustatory pathways". The Journal of Comparative Neurology. 150 (2): 217–237. doi:10.1002/cne.901500208. ISSN 0021-9967. PMID 4723066. S2CID 7445901.
  6. ^ a b Katz, Donald B; Nicolelis, Miguel A L; Simon, Sidney A (2002-08-01). "Gustatory processing is dynamic and distributed". Current Opinion in Neurobiology. 12 (4): 448–454. doi:10.1016/S0959-4388(02)00341-0. ISSN 0959-4388. PMID 12139994. S2CID 17044328.
  7. ^ a b Lamb, Charles F.; Finger, Thomas E. (1996). "Axonal projection patterns of neurons in the secondary gustatory nucleus of channel catfish". Journal of Comparative Neurology. 365 (4): 585–593. doi:10.1002/(sici)1096-9861(19960219)365:4<585::aid-cne6>3.0.co;2-0. ISSN 1096-9861. PMID 8742304. S2CID 19083368.
  8. ^ Cherches, Igor M. (2016), "Clinical Neuroanatomy", Neurology Secrets, Elsevier, pp. 11–41, doi:10.1016/b978-0-323-35948-1.00002-4, ISBN 9780323359481
  9. ^ Whitehead, Mark C. (1986). "Anatomy of the gustatory system in the hamster: Synaptology of facial afferent terminals in the solitary nucleus". Journal of Comparative Neurology. 244 (1): 72–85. doi:10.1002/cne.902440106. ISSN 1096-9861. PMID 3950091. S2CID 24265928.
  10. ^ Shipley, Michael T.; Geinisman, Yuri (1984-03-01). "Anatomical evidence for convergence of olfactory, gustatory, and visceral afferent pathways in mouse cerebral cortex". Brain Research Bulletin. 12 (3): 221–226. doi:10.1016/0361-9230(84)90049-2. ISSN 0361-9230. PMID 6722597. S2CID 4776024.
  11. ^ Zald, D. H.; Lee, J. T.; Fluegel, K. W.; Pardo, J. V. (1998-06-01). "Aversive gustatory stimulation activates limbic circuits in humans". Brain. 121 (6): 1143–1154. doi:10.1093/brain/121.6.1143. ISSN 0006-8950. PMID 9648549.