Current research interest: Neuroscience – psychophysics and neurophysiology of the chemical senses, specifically taste.
As a neuroscientist I am conducting research from a holistic (systems) approach. While studying plasticity in sugar taste due to experience, I incorporate experience and methods from several disciplines. Human psychophysics allows me to test what humans are able to taste after given experience with sugar. Neurophysiology allows me to record Action Potentials (electrical signals given by neurons) from individual taste receptor cells when tested after experience with sugar. Molecular biological finds let me understand what is happening at the receptor cell level as the taste receptor cells are exposed to sweet tastants. Using all of these tools I’m able to get a “sense” of what the brain is doing.
We have data that supports the taste induction theory for sugar taste: With experience to fructose sensitivity to glucose increases. We have also found that experience with the artificial sweetener Na-cyclamate also increases sensitivity to the natural sugar glucose. This is amazing since it is known that artificial sweeteners and natural sugars have different transduction mechanisms in the periphery even though they share the same sweet taste receptor heterodimer T1R2/T1R3.
Once elucidated this induction process could have a positive effect on the public health problem of obesity. The discovery of new, or modulation of the taste of existing, artificial sweeteners to make low sugar foods more palatable may result. Or, the induction pathway may possibly be a target for new pharmaceuticals.
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I am a proud recipient of a
2006 Graduate Research Fellowship
from the National Science Foundation. |
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