# The role of gustatory cortex in perceptual learning of taste

> **NIH NIH F30** · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · 2022 · $39,028

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
To adapt and survive in natural environments, animals need to learn to discriminate sensory stimuli predicting
different outcomes. This ability is particularly important in the case of largely overlapping sensory inputs. For
example, in taste, small differences between otherwise similar solutions could mean the difference between
ingesting a poison and having a safe meal. This phenomenon, known as perceptual learning, has been well
documented across species and sensory modalities. However, understanding the mechanisms of neural plas-
ticity underlying perceptual learning - i.e. how the brain plastically encodes, generalizes and discriminates large
numbers of overlapping stimuli - remains a great challenge in neuroscientific research. Studies in the visual and
auditory systems have converged on two non-mutually exclusive models, 1) enhancement of sensory represen-
tations and 2) improved ability of decision-making circuits to interpret sensory evidence to guide actions. Gener-
ally, these two types of activity are found in different brain areas, however both types can be found in the primary
taste cortex, known as the gustatory insular cortex (GC). This makes taste an ideal system to test relative con-
tributions of the two models. Additionally, the mechanisms of plasticity underlying perceptual learning remain
incompletely understood, but some studies have suggested a role for the neuromodulator, dopamine. The cur-
rent proposal will test the hypotheses that 1) representations of overlapping taste stimuli and associated deci-
sions by GC neurons separate as mice learn a perceptual discrimination task; 2) GC DAergic signaling mediates
plasticity underlying task learning and performance. I will rely on a taste-based two alternative forced choice
(2AFC) in which mice are trained to detect the predominant taste in a mixture. To study chemosensory and
decision-related coding in GC, I will use chronic 2-photon and widefield calcium imaging in populations of GC
neurons as mice learn. To parse the role of dopamine in task learning and performance, I will use selective
lesioning of GC dopaminergic axons and local chemogenetic inhibition of dopamine transmission combined with
calcium imaging. These experiments will provide important information about taste processing, the neural basis
of perceptual learning and the role of cortical dopamine in taste and sensory processing more broadly.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10417050
- **Project number:** 5F30DC019523-02
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- **Principal Investigator:** Joshua Kogan
- **Activity code:** F30 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $39,028
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-07-01 → 2025-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10417050

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10417050, The role of gustatory cortex in perceptual learning of taste (5F30DC019523-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10417050. Licensed CC0.

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