Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: 〒803-8580 福岡県北九州市小倉北区真鶴2-6-1Food texture is a critical sensory attribute that strongly influences food preference, mastication, and swallowing.The frequent use of texture-related onomatopoeic terms in Japanese, including "mochi-mochi," "kari-kari," and "shakishaki," suggests that texture plays a pivotal role in food perception and eating behavior.During mastication, texture is detected via mechanoreceptors in the periodontal ligament, oral mucosa, and jaw-closing muscle spindles.These signals regulate masticatory force and frequency.During swallowing, texture information is used to determine whether the bolus is safe to swallow.Thus, oral texture perception is essential for efficient and safe feeding behavior.Despite its importance, the physiological mechanisms underlying texture perception remain poorly understood, as prior research has primarily relied on instrumental measurements and human sensory evaluation.One major obstacle has been the lack of appropriate animal models for investigating texture perception.To address this, we established behavioral evaluation systems in rats under conditions that exclude gustatory and olfactory cues.Using conditioned aversion and preference learning paradigms, we demonstrated that rats can discriminate various texture features, including viscosity, springiness, hardness, and particulate properties.This review summarizes our behavioral models and highlights their potential application in combination with neuroscience techniques such as manipulation of neuronal activity, genetargeted receptor manipulation, and circuit mapping.These approaches offer new opportunities to clarify the neural mechanisms and receptor systems involved in oral texture perception.
Author: Chihiro Nakatomi
Institution: Kyushu Dental University
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4413317877