AUTHOR=Scott Thomas R. TITLE=Learning through the taste system JOURNAL=Frontiers in Systems Neuroscience VOLUME=5 YEAR=2011 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/systems-neuroscience/articles/10.3389/fnsys.2011.00087 DOI=10.3389/fnsys.2011.00087 ISSN=1662-5137 ABSTRACT=

Taste is the final arbiter of which chemicals from the environment will be admitted to the body. The action of swallowing a substance leads to a physiological consequence of which the taste system should be informed. Accordingly, taste neurons in the central nervous system are closely allied with those that receive input from the viscera so as to monitor the impact of a recently ingested substance. There is behavioral, anatomical, electrophysiological, gene expression, and neurochemical evidence that the consequences of ingestion influence subsequent food selection through development of either a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) (if illness ensues) or a conditioned taste preference (CTP) (if nutrition). This ongoing communication between taste and the viscera permits the animal to tailor its taste system to its individual needs over a lifetime.