title: Lesions of the central nucleus of the amygdala. I: Effects on taste reactivity, taste aversion learning and sodium appetite.
abstract: Bilateral damage to the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeAX) in the rat blunts need-induced NaCl intake and abolishes daily need-free NaCl intake when measured with a two-bottle test. Such a deficit could be the result of impaired taste function. To assess the taste function of the CeAX rat various taste stimuli were introduced directly into the oral cavity and taste-elicited oral motor responses were measured. Oral motor responses elicited by 0.62 M and 0.13 M sodium chloride, 0.3 M sucrose and 0.01 M citric acid, were similar in control and CeAX rats. Additionally CeAX and control rats acquired a taste aversion for fructose or maltose when either was paired with LiCl. Finally, in CeAX rats, like in control rats, the pattern of oral motor responses to 0.5 M NaCl was dependent on internal state; sodium depletion dramatically altered taste-elicited oral motor behavior. These results suggest that, in the rat, the deficits in NaCl intake behavior that follow CeAX do not appear to be a result of dramatic changes in gustatory function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia.
authors.forename: O G
authors.initials: OG
authors.lastname: Galaverna
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Seeley
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Berridge
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Grill
authors.forename: A N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Epstein
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Schulkin
mesh_terms: D000679:Amygdala / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite / Q000187:drug effects*; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000502:physiology; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D011149:Pons / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012982:Sodium, Dietary / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D012982:Sodium, Dietary; D018021:Lithium Chloride