title: A gustocentric perspective to understanding primary sensory cortices.
abstract: Most of the general principles used to explain sensory cortical function have been inferred from experiments performed on neocortical, primary sensory areas. Attempts to apply a neocortical view to the study of the gustatory cortex (GC) have provided only a limited understanding of this area. Failures to conform GC to classical neocortical principles have been implicitly interpreted as a demonstration of GC's uniqueness. Here we propose to take the opposite perspective, dismissing GC's uniqueness and using principles extracted from its study as a lens for looking at neocortical sensory function. In this review, we describe three significant findings related to gustatory cortical function and advocate their relevance for understanding neocortical sensory areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. Electronic address: roberto.vincis@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vincis
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA; Program in Neuroscience, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794, USA. Electronic address: alfredo.fontanini@stonybrook.edu.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fontanini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D010296:Parietal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*; D013003:Somatosensory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000502:physiology*