de Araujo Ivan E, Geha Paul, Small Dana M
The John B. Pierce Laboratory, School of Medicine, Yale University, 290 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06519, USA. Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, 300 George Street, Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.
Chemosens Percept. 2012 Mar 1;5(1):64-79. doi: 10.1007/s12078-012-9117-9.
The gustatory aspect of the insular cortex is part of the brain circuit that controls ingestive behaviors based on chemosensory inputs. However, the sensory properties of foods are not restricted to taste and should also include salient features such as odor, texture, temperature, and appearance. Therefore, it is reasonable to hypothesize that specialized circuits within the central taste pathways must be involved in representing several other oral sensory modalities in addition to taste. In this review, we evaluate current evidence indicating that the insular gustatory cortex functions as an integrative circuit, with taste-responsive regions also showing heightened sensitivity to olfactory, somatosensory, and even visual stimulation. We also review evidence for modulation of taste-responsive insular areas by changes in physiological state, with taste-elicited neuronal responses varying according to the nutritional state of the organism. We then examine experimental support for a functional map within the insular cortex that might reflect the various sensory and homeostatic roles associated with this region. Finally, we evaluate the potential role of the taste insular cortex in weight-gain susceptibility. Taken together, the current experimental evidence favors the view that the insular gustatory cortex functions as an orosensory integrative system that not only enables the formation of complex flavor representations but also mediates their modulation by the internal state of the body, playing therefore a central role in food intake regulation.
岛叶皮质的味觉部分是大脑回路的一部分，该回路基于化学感觉输入来控制摄食行为。然而，食物的感官特性并不局限于味道，还应包括气味、质地、温度和外观等显著特征。因此，有理由推测，除了味觉之外，中枢味觉通路中的专门回路必定参与了对其他几种口腔感觉模式的表征。在这篇综述中，我们评估了当前的证据，这些证据表明岛叶味觉皮质起着整合回路的作用，其中对味觉有反应的区域对嗅觉、体感甚至视觉刺激也表现出更高的敏感性。我们还回顾了生理状态变化对岛叶味觉反应区域产生调节作用的证据，味觉引发的神经元反应会根据机体的营养状态而有所不同。然后，我们研究了岛叶皮质内功能图谱的实验支持证据，该图谱可能反映了与该区域相关的各种感觉和体内平衡作用。最后，我们评估了岛叶味觉皮质在体重增加易感性方面的潜在作用。综上所述，目前的实验证据支持这样一种观点，即岛叶味觉皮质起着口腔感觉整合系统的作用，它不仅能够形成复杂的风味表征，还能介导机体内部状态对这些表征的调节，因此在食物摄入调节中起着核心作用。
