Author ORCID Identifier
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2016
Publication Title
Chemosensory Perception
Volume
9
Issue
3
First Page
95
Last Page
104
Abstract
Introduction
A cross-sensory interaction between gustatory and trigeminal nerves occurs in the anterior tongue. Surgical manipulations have demonstrated that the strength of this relationship varies across development. Capsaicin is a neurotoxin that affects fibers of the somatosensory lingual nerve surrounding taste buds, but not fibers of the gustatory chorda tympani nerve which synapse with taste receptor cells. Since capsaicin is commonly consumed by many species, including humans, the experimental use of this neurotoxin provides a naturalistic perturbation of the lingual trigeminal system. Neonatal or adult rats consumed oral capsaicin for 40 days, and we examined the cross-sensory effect on the morphology of taste buds across development.
Methods
Rats received moderate doses of oral capsaicin, with chronic treatments occurring either before or after taste system maturation. Tongue morphology was examined either 2 or 50 days after treatment cessation. Edema, which has been previously suggested as a cause of changes in capsaicin-related gustatory function, was also assessed.
Results
Reductions in taste bud volume occurred 50 days, but not 2 days post-treatment for rats treated as neonates. Adult rats at either time post-treatment were unaffected. Edema was not found to occur with the 5 ppm concentration of capsaicin we used.
Conclusions
Results further elucidate the cooperative relationship between these discrete sensory systems and highlight the developmentally mediated aspect of this interaction.
Implications
Chronic exposure to even moderate levels of noxious stimuli during development has the ability to impact the orosensory environment, and these changes may not be evident until long after exposure has ceased.
Recommended Citation
Omelian, Jacquelyn M.; Samson, Kaeli K.; and Sollars, Suzanne I., "Chronic Oral Capsaicin Exposure During Development Leads to Adult Rats with Reduced Taste Bud Volumes" (2016). Psychology Faculty Publications. 220.
https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/psychfacpub/220
Comments
“This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Chemosensory Perception. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12078-016-9214-2”.