How taste and body sensations shape food liking
Official title: Taste and Somatosensory Processing
Funded at University of Oklahoma · NIH-11287890 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Researchers are mapping how taste and bodily sensations connect in the brain to better understand why some foods feel appealing or aversive for people with eating or taste problems.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Oklahoma NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Norman, United States) |
| Project start | March 1, 2011 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $136,450 |
| NIH project number | 5R01DC011579-15 |
| Project ID | NIH-11287890 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with eating disorders, persistent changes in taste perception, or abnormal food aversions would be the most likely to benefit from future treatments informed by this work.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate treatments or those whose symptoms are unrelated to taste or food-related hedonic processing are unlikely to get direct benefit from this animal-based research.
What this research studies
This project uses mice to record brain activity and control specific nerve circuits to see how taste signals and painful or aversive body signals are combined in the brain. Scientists focus on a brainstem region called the parabrachial complex and its connections with the amygdala, areas linked to emotion and feeding. Techniques include in vivo neural recordings and optogenetics in anesthetized animals to trace which cells respond to taste versus nociceptive inputs. The goal is to reveal circuit patterns that could explain altered food preference or avoidance in human eating disorders.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal brain-circuit targets that help explain altered appetite or taste and guide new approaches for eating disorders or taste-related problems.
How similar studies have gone: Previous rodent studies have identified taste and amygdala circuits and shown that manipulating them can change feeding behavior, but translating these findings into human therapies remains early-stage.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Oklahoma
Norman, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Lemon, Christian H — University of Oklahoma
- Study coordinator: Lemon, Christian H
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.