Information processing in the parabrachial nucleus of the pons: Temporal relationships of input and output

As the second synapse in the central gustatory pathway of the rodent, the parabrachial nucleus of the pons (PbN) receives information about taste stimuli directly from the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS). Data show that NTS cells amplify taste responses before transmitting taste-related signals to the PbN. NTS cells of varied response profiles send converging input to PbN cells, though input from NTS cells with similar profiles is more effective at driving PbN responses. PbN cells follow NTS input for the first 3 s of taste stimulation for NaCl, HCl, and quinine, but are driven in cyclic bursts throughout the response interval for sucrose. Analyses of the temporal characteristics of NTS and PbN responses show that both structures use temporal coding with equal effectiveness to identify taste quality. Thus, the NTS input to the PbN is comprehensive, in that PbN cells receive NTS input that could support broad sensitivity, systematic, in that the time course of PbN firing patterns depend reliably on the tastant, and efficient, in that information from the NTS is preserved as it is communicated across structures. Comparisons of NTS and PbN taste responses in rats form the basis for our speculation that in primates, where the central gustatory pathway does not synapse in the PbN, the function of the PbN in taste processing may have been incorporated into that of the NTS.