Gustatory Imagery Reveals Functional Connectivity from the Prefrontal to Insular Cortices Traced with Magnetoencephalography

Our experience and prejudice concerning food play an important role in modulating gustatory information processing; gustatory memory stored in the central nervous system influences gustatory information arising from the peripheral nervous system. We have elucidated the mechanism of the 'top-down" modulation of taste perception in humans using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and demonstrated that gustatory imagery is mediated by the prefrontal (PFC) and insular cortices (IC). However, the temporal order of activation of these brain regions during gustatory imagery is still an open issue. To explore the source of "top-down" signals during gustatory imagery tasks, we analyzed the temporal activation patterns of activated regions in the cerebral cortex using another non-invasive brain imaging technique, magnetoencephalography (MEG). Gustatory imagery tasks were presented by words (Letter G-V) or pictures (Picture G-V) of foods/beverages, and participants were requested to recall their taste. In the Letter G-V session, 7/9 (77.8%) participants showed activation in the IC with a latency of 401.7 +/- 34.7 ms (n = 7) from the onset of word exhibition. In 5/7 (71.4%) participants who exhibited IC activation, the PFC was activated prior to the IC at a latency of 315.2 +/- 56.5 ms (n = 5), which was significantly shorter than the latency to the IC activation. In the Picture G-V session, the IC was activated in 6/9 (66.7%) participants, and only 1/9 (11.1%) participants showed activation in the PFC. There was no significant dominance between the right and left IC or PFC during gustatory imagery. These results support those from our previous fMRI study in that the Letter G-V session rather than the Picture G-V session effectively activates the PFC and IC and strengthen the hypothesis that the PFC mediates "top-down" control of retrieving gustatory information from the storage of long-term memories and in turn activates the IC

Intestinal microbiota in human health and disease: the impact of probiotics

The complex communities of microorganisms that colonise the human gastrointestinal tract play an important role in human health. The development of culture-independent molecular techniques has provided new insights in the composition and diversity of the intestinal microbiota. Here, we summarise the present state of the art on the intestinal microbiota with specific attention for the application of high-throughput functional microbiomic approaches to determine the contribution of the intestinal microbiota to human health. Moreover, we review the association between dysbiosis of the microbiota and both intestinal and extra-intestinal diseases. Finally, we discuss the potential of probiotic microorganism to modulate the intestinal microbiota and thereby contribute to health and well-being. The effects of probiotic consumption on the intestinal microbiota are addressed, as well as the development of tailor-made probiotics designed for specific aberrations that are associated with microbial dysbiosis

Chemogenetic Inactivation of Ventral Hippocampal Glutamatergic Neurons Disrupts Consolidation of Contextual Fear Memory

Synaptic consolidation is a process thought to consolidate memory in the brain. Although lesion studies have mainly implicated the hippocampus (HPC) in this process, it is unknown which cell type(s) or regions of the HPC might be essential for synaptic consolidation. To selectively and reversibly suppress hippocampal neuronal activity during this process, we developed a new Gi-DREADD (hM4Di) transgenic mouse for in vivo manipulation of neuronal activity in freely moving animals. We found that CA1 pyramidal neurons could be dose-dependently inactivated by clozapine-n-oxide (CNO). Inactivation of hippocampal neurons within 6 h immediately after conditioned fear training successfully impaired the consolidation of contextual memory, without disturbing cued memory. To anatomically define the brain subregion critical for the behavioral effects, hM4Di viral vectors were transduced and selectively expressed in the glutamatergic neurons in either the dorsal or ventral HPC. Significantly, we found that selective inactivation of ventral but not dorsal glutamatergic hippocampal neurons suppressed the synaptic consolidation of contextual memory