# The role of cortical D1R-expressing neurons in taste-based sensorimotor transformations

> **NIH NIH F31** · STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK · 2022 · $39,055

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 To survive, animals must use gustatory sensory stimuli to inform and guide reward-oriented actions like
licking and chewing. Previous work examining this process, known as sensorimotor integration, has established
the anterior lateral motor cortex (ALM) as a model brain region to study sensorimotor processing related to
licking. Neural activity within this region reflects sensory information and motor planning of licking, implicating
ALM in mediating sensory-based lick decisions. However, it remains unknown if ALM is involved in taste-guided
sensorimotor integration – despite licking and taste being invariably connected – and whether this process in-
volves dopaminergic circuits. Blockade of D1R signaling within ALM has been found to affect both sensory-
evoked responses and motor planning of stimuli-guided licking, suggesting a potential role for ALM neurons
expressing D1Rs (D1R+ neurons) in lick-related sensorimotor transformations. However, the contributions of
D1R+ neurons in taste-guided sensorimotor integration remains unstudied. This proposal will test the central
hypothesis that D1R+ neurons are required during gustatory sensorimotor transformation and exhibit patterns of
activity representing gustatory processing and preparation of lick choice. The proposed experiments will rely on
a recently established 4-taste, 2-alternative choice (2-AC) task in which mice must sample one out of four
tastants (i.e., two sweets: sucrose, maltose and two bitters: quinine and sucrose octaacetate) from a central
spout and associate pairs with opposite perceptual qualities with specific actions (i.e., sucrose or quinine → lick
left vs maltose and sucrose octaacetate → lick right) after a delay period. To study the role of D1R+ neurons
during this behavior, I will utilize a combination of cutting-edge techniques that include cell-type specific optoge-
netic manipulation and 2-photon calcium imaging. To my knowledge, these will be some of the first experiments
examining the link between gustatory sensorimotor processing and neurons expressing D1Rs.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10535972
- **Project number:** 1F31DC020648-01
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK
- **Principal Investigator:** John Chen
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $39,055
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-07-01 → 2024-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10535972

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10535972, The role of cortical D1R-expressing neurons in taste-based sensorimotor transformations (1F31DC020648-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10535972. Licensed CC0.

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