RT journal article
T1 Increased basolateral amygdala metabolic activity during flavor familiarization: an experimental study
A1 Menchén Márquez, Sergio
A1 Banqueri, María
A1 Gómez Chacón, Beatriz
A1 Arias, Jorge L.
A1 Gallo, Milagros
A1 marquez, sergio
A2 Didáctica
K1 Amygdala
K1 Attenuation of neophobia
K1 Cytochrome c oxidase
K1 Flavor
K1 Neophobia
K1 Taste
AB Background: Novel flavors elicit a cautious neophobic response which is attenuated as the flavor becomes familiar and safe. The attenuation of neophobia reveals the formation of a safe memory. Previous lesion studies in rats have reported that basolateral amygdala integrity is required for taste neophobia, but not neophobia to flavor, i.e., taste linked to an odorous component. Accordingly, immunohistochemical analyses show that novel tastes induced higher basolateral amygdala activity when compared to familiar ones. However, a different role of basolateral amygdala in flavor attenuation of neophobia is suggested by lesion studies using a vinegar solution. Studies assessing basolateral amygdala activity during flavor attenuation of neophobia are lacking. Thus, we quantified cytochrome oxidase as an index of basolateral amygdala activity along the first and second vinegar exposures in order to assess flavor neophobia and attenuation of neophobia. Methods: We exposed adult male Wistar rats either once or twice to a 3% cider vinegar solution or water, and compared the basolateral amygdala, piriform cortex and caudate putamen brain metabolic activity using cytochrome c-oxidase histochemistry. Results: We found increased flavor intake and cytochrome c-oxidase histochemistry activity during the second exposure in basolateral amygdala, but not in the piriform cortex and caudate/putamen. Conclusions: The main finding of the study is that BLA metabolic activity was higher in the group exposed to a familiar vinegar solution than in the groups exposed to either water or a novel vinegar solution.
PB Springer
SN 1744-9081
YR 2023
FD 2023-02-03
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10498/29735
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10498/29735
LA eng
DS Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Cádiz
RD 14-nov-2026