FUNCTIONAL-ANATOMY OF TASTE PERCEPTION IN THE HUMAN BRAIN STUDIED WITH POSITRON EMISSION TOMOGRAPHY

Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) in 10 normal volunteers with the purpose of measuring rCBF changes related to taste physiology. Discrimination of 0.18% saline; from pure water was associated with significantly increased rCBF values in the thalamus, the insular cortex, the anterior cingulate gyrus, the parahippocampal gyrus, the lingual gyrus, the caudate nucleus, and the temporal gyri. The results indicate that rCBF changes in these structures may reflect oral exposure to salt.