Neural Ensembles in Taste Coding

Making use of data from taste and other sensory systems, as well as basic theoretical neuroscience principals, we discuss an issue orthogonal to the classic labeled-line versus distributed-pattern debate - the role of interactive networks in gustatory neural processing. We present data demonstrating that such interactions occur and that they imbue taste-related activity with temporal structure and context specificity. We suggest that, in light of these data, neural taste responses are best described, not in terms of spatial codes, but rather in terms of the processes involved in transforming sensory input into action.