Representation of salty taste stimulus concentrations in the primary gustatory Area in humans

Abstract

The relationship between neuronal activity in the human gustatory cortex and the concentrations of taste stimuli is not well understood. In this study, we recorded changes in the magnetic fields of the human brain in response to four concentrations of NaCl (30 mM, 100 mM, 300 mM, and 1M) and measured the magnitude and shortest latency of the equivalent current dipole (ECD) in the primary gustatory area of the cerebral cortex (PGA). The average magnitude of ECDs in the PGA increased in a concentration-dependent manner throughout the entire range of NaCl concentrations. The shortest latency of the ECD, however, did not vary with the stimulus concentration.