Taste responses to binary mixtures of amino acids in the sea catfish, Arius felis

Abstract

In vivo electrophysiological recordings in the sea catfish, Arius felis, showed that the magnitude of the integrated facial taste responses to binary mixtures of amino acids was predictable with knowledge obtained from previous cross-adaptation studies of the relative independence of the respective binding sites of the component stimuli. Each component from which equal aliquots were drawn to form the mixtures was adjusted in concentration to provide for approximately equal reponse magnitudes. The magnitude of the taste responses to binary mixtures whose component amino acids showed minimal cross-adaptation was significantly greater than that to binary mixtures whose components exhibited considerable cross-reactivity. There was no evidence for mixture suppression. The relative magnitude of the taste responses in the sea catfish to stimulus mixtures is similar to that previously reported for olfactory receptor responses in the freshwater channel catfish and chorda tympani taste responses in the hamster.