Have you ever eaten something totally new and it tasted awful? Well, no problem, because they have discovered that our brain will be more “forgiving” the next time we test it elsewhere, according to the new study carried out by the Department of Neurobiology at the University of Haifa (Israel) and which is collected in the journal Journal of Neuroscience .
The researchers conducted an experiment with mice in which they examined the relationship between the gustatory cortex (the one responsible for the memory of taste) and three different areas of the hippocampus , the area responsible for encoding the concept of space, the area responsible for encoding the relationship. of time between events and, finally, the area responsible for filling in the missing information. They used normal mice as well as mice genetically modified so that their brains did not allow new memories.
The mice were exposed to two new flavors, one that caused stomach pain and one that did not . Comparing the two groups, they found that when the new taste was not accompanied by an association with toxic foods or pain, there was no difference between normal mice and those without plasticity in the different functional areas of the brain. However, when the taste caused a negative sensation, there was a clear participation of the area responsible for encoding the space .
The results of the experiment showed that there is a link between the areas of the brain responsible for taste memory within a negative context and the areas of the brain responsible for memory processing regarding the time and place of sensory experiences. Ultimately, they have discovered that if we try a new flavor but the context is positive, this link does not occur . Only when the context is negative.
The insular cortex, the amygdala, and the prefrontal cortex of the brain are involved in taste perception, but until now, it was unknown whether there was a direct relationship between all these areas with the time or place in which a new taste was experienced . Thanks to this study, it has been possible for the first time to demonstrate that there is a functional link between both regions of the brain.
“The importance of this is that the moment we return to the same place where we experience the taste associated with a bad feeling, unconsciously the negative memory will be much stronger than if we get to taste the same taste in a totally different place “, says Kobi Rosenblum, study leader.
