A Low-Sodium Diet Alters Glossopharyngeal Nerve Taste Responses in Adult Rats While Nerve Injury Has No Effect
Advisor Information
Suzanne Sollars
Location
UNO Criss Library, Room 249
Presentation Type
Oral Presentation
Start Date
6-3-2015 11:30 AM
End Date
6-3-2015 11:45 AM
Abstract
Damage to the taste system at an early age produces much larger structural, behavioral, and functional changes than damage after maturation. We have previously found that when the chorda tympani nerve (CT; the nerve that sends information from the anterior tongue to the brain) is cut (CTX), the way the glossopharyngeal nerve (GL; the nerve that sends taste input from the posterior tongue) responds to sodium salts is altered. This effect appears to occur only if CTX happens during early development. Several studies suggest that immune responses following injurycan affect how taste nerves respond to sodium salts, and that diets low in sodium suppress normal immune function following CTX. To determine whether differential immune system responses to injury are responsible for the changse in GL function that occur after CTX in developing, but not adult rats, electrophysiological responses were recorded in adult rats two weeks after being placed on a low-sodium diet and given either CTX or a control surgery. GL responses to taste solutions were not different between the CTX and control surgery groups. This result suggests that changes in GL function after early CTX are not related to a suppressed immune system response to injury compared to adults. Suprisingly, GL responses to sweet, bitter, and sour solutions appear larger for rats given the low sodium diet compared to rats fed a control diet in a previous study from our lab. These preliminary results indicate that differences in dietary intake can alter the messages the brain receives about food.
A Low-Sodium Diet Alters Glossopharyngeal Nerve Taste Responses in Adult Rats While Nerve Injury Has No Effect
UNO Criss Library, Room 249
Damage to the taste system at an early age produces much larger structural, behavioral, and functional changes than damage after maturation. We have previously found that when the chorda tympani nerve (CT; the nerve that sends information from the anterior tongue to the brain) is cut (CTX), the way the glossopharyngeal nerve (GL; the nerve that sends taste input from the posterior tongue) responds to sodium salts is altered. This effect appears to occur only if CTX happens during early development. Several studies suggest that immune responses following injurycan affect how taste nerves respond to sodium salts, and that diets low in sodium suppress normal immune function following CTX. To determine whether differential immune system responses to injury are responsible for the changse in GL function that occur after CTX in developing, but not adult rats, electrophysiological responses were recorded in adult rats two weeks after being placed on a low-sodium diet and given either CTX or a control surgery. GL responses to taste solutions were not different between the CTX and control surgery groups. This result suggests that changes in GL function after early CTX are not related to a suppressed immune system response to injury compared to adults. Suprisingly, GL responses to sweet, bitter, and sour solutions appear larger for rats given the low sodium diet compared to rats fed a control diet in a previous study from our lab. These preliminary results indicate that differences in dietary intake can alter the messages the brain receives about food.