Effects of reversible block of callosal afferent inputs on the response characteristics of single neurons in the cortical taste area in rats.

We examined the change in magnitude of the taste responses of single neurons in the cortical taste area (CTA) in one side by reversibly blocking the CTA in the other side with a local anesthetic, procaine-HCl, in urethane-anesthetized rats. Taste responses of 68 taste neurons were continuously recorded for up to 2 h until recovery from the treatment, and those in 50 of them were found to be affected significantly. No remarkable difference was noted in the spatial distribution of the affected and non-affected neurons in the CTA. Many of the affected neurons were located in layers IV and V of area GI and in layer V of area DI. In most cases, changes in the taste responses of single neurons were in one direction, i.e., either a decrease or an increase, but in a few cases they decreased or increased depending on the stimulus. The taste profile of callosal inputs was estimated by subtracting responses after treatment from the control responses before treatment. The results suggest that the CTAs on both sides are functionally connected by way of callosal fibers as anatomical studies indicate, and that the CTA in one side receives excitatory or inhibitory inputs from the other side.