# Activation of posterior ventral pallidum by bitter taste in mice

## TL;DR

This study shows that bitter taste activates neurons in the posterior ventral pallidum of mice, linking it to negative emotional responses.

## Contribution

The study reveals that bitter taste, typically associated with negative emotions, activates neurons in the posterior ventral pallidum.

## Key findings

- Bitter taste stimuli significantly increased c-fos-positive cells in the posterior ventral pallidum.
- This activation is linked to negative affective behaviors like disgust in mice.

## Abstract

The posterior ventral pallidum (pVP) is involved in positive affective behaviors and is called the “hedonic hotspot”. However, the responses of the pVP neurons to affective taste stimuli are poorly understood. We examined the expression of
c-fos
, a molecular marker of neuronal activation, in the pVP and surrounding regions after several taste stimuli. The
c-fos
-positive cells were significantly increased in the pVP by bitter taste stimuli, which induced disgust reactions, suggesting that a subset of pVP neurons was activated by bitter taste stimuli associated with negative affective behaviors.