THALAMIC RELAY NUCLEUS FOR TASTE IN ALBINO RAT

Abstract

The thalamic relay for taste in the rat was localized by examining the effect of thalamic lesions pn behavioral taste thresholds. Destruction of the subnucleus of the ventralis, which degenerates following cortical ablation of the evoked potential area of the taste nerves, resulted in severe and lasting impairment of taste discrimination. Enlarging the lesion to include much of the surrounding thalamus did not increase the severity of the impairment and destruction of this surrounding tissue alone; leaving the sub-nucleus intact did not significantly affect normal taste discrimination. The data establish that the subnucleus, especially its medial part, is the thalamic relay for taste.