Gustatory processing: a dynamic systems approach

Recent gustatory studies have provided a growing body of evidence that taste processing is dynamic and distributed, and the taste system too complex to be adequately described by traditional feed-forward models of taste coding. Current research demonstrates that neuronal responses throughout the gustatory neuroaxis are broad, variable and temporally structured, as a result of the fact that the taste network is extensive and heavily interconnected, containing modulatory pathways, many of which are reciprocal. Multimodal influences (e.g. olfactory and somatosensory) and effects of internal state (e.g. attention and expectation), shown in both behavioral and neuronal responses to taste stimuli, add further complexity to neural taste responses. Future gustatory research should extend to more brain regions, incorporate more connections, and analyze behaviors and neuronal responses in both time- and state-dependent manners.