Rapid Changes in Gustatory Function Induced by Contralateral Nerve Injury and Sodium Depletion

The combination of dietary sodium depletion and unilateral chorda tympani (CT) nerve section decreases sodium taste function in the intact CT nerve. However, functional changes have not been examined prior to day 4 postsectioning, even though degenerative and inflammatory responses are robust during...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical senses 2008-02, Vol.33 (2), p.125-135
Main Authors: Wall, Pamela Lea, McCluskey, Lynnette Phillips
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
amiloride
Amiloride - pharmacology
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
chorda tympani nerve
Chorda Tympani Nerve - physiology
Chorda Tympani Nerve - surgery
Denervation
Diet, Sodium-Restricted
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Furosemide
Macrophages - physiology
neural degeneration
neural plasticity
neurophysiology
Neutrophils - physiology
Olfaction. Taste
Perception
Potassium Chloride
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Rats
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Sodium Chloride
Sodium, Dietary - metabolism
Taste - physiology
Taste Buds - physiology
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Summary:The combination of dietary sodium depletion and unilateral chorda tympani (CT) nerve section decreases sodium taste function in the intact CT nerve. However, functional changes have not been examined prior to day 4 postsectioning, even though degenerative and inflammatory responses are robust during that period. Rats received unilateral CT section and/or dietary sodium depletion, accomplished by 2 injections of furosemide and a sodium-restricted diet, on day 0. Surgical controls received sham nerve sectioning. At days 1, 2, 3, or 4, taste responses were recorded from the intact nerve. Functional changes were rapid and unexpected. At day 1 postsectioning, neural responses from the uninjured CT of both control-fed and sodium-depleted animals were reduced. By day 2, however, normal function was restored in control-fed rats, whereas functional deficits persisted in depleted animals. Sodium depletion alone also induced a transient decrease in sodium responses at days 2–3 after furosemide injection. These results demonstrate that distant neural injury can elicit gustatory plasticity regardless of the dietary environment, but normal responses can be restored. We suggest that neutrophils mediate the initial postinjury deficits in taste function, whereas macrophages promote the recovery of normal function.
ISSN:0379-864X
1464-3553
DOI:10.1093/chemse/bjm071