TY - JOUR
T1 - Rapid changes in gustatory function induced by contralateral nerve injury and sodium depletion
AU - Wall, Pamela Lea
AU - McCluskey, Lynnette Phillips
N1 - Funding Information:
All protocols were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Medical College of Georgia and followed guidelines set by the National Institutes of Health. Female specified pathogen-free Sprague–Dawley rats (n = 112; Charles River, Wilmington, MA) were 150– 290 g at the time of nerve recording. CT responses did not vary with body weight. Rats were housed in cages with barrier tops and received autoclaved food, bedding, and water.
PY - 2008/2
Y1 - 2008/2
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - Amiloride
KW - Chorda tympani nerve
KW - Neural degeneration
KW - Neural plasticity
KW - Neurophysiology
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U2 - 10.1093/chemse/bjm071
DO - 10.1093/chemse/bjm071
M3 - Article
C2 - 17962227
AN - SCOPUS:39749168401
SN - 0379-864X
VL - 33
SP - 125
EP - 135
JO - Chemical Senses
JF - Chemical Senses
IS - 2
ER -