Research Interest
Neural basis of gustation, animal psychophysics, sensory processes, regulation of ingestive behavior, taste preferences and aversions.
Current Projects
- Assessment of taste function in mice with genetic deletions of taste receptors.
- Analysis of alterations in taste function and ingestive behavior associated with gastric bypass surgery.
- Evaluation of taste function following targeted damage in central gustatory structures.
- Analysis of function following transection and regeneration of gustatory nerves.
Selected Recent Publications
Mathes, C. M., Bueter, M., Smith, K. R., Lutz, T. A., le Roux, C. W., & Spector AC. Roux-en-Y gastric bypass in rats increases sucrose taste-related motivated behavior independent of pharmacological GLP-1-receptor modulation.. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol.. In Press. (2012)
Treesukosol, Y., Smith, K.R., and Spector AC. The functional role of the T!R family of receptors in sweet taste and feeding.. Physiology and Behavior. 105, 14-26. (2011)
Treesukosol, Y., Smith, K. R., & Spector AC. Behavioral evidence for a glucose polymer taste receptor that is independent of the T1R2+3 heterodimer in a mouse model.. Journal of Neuroscience. 31, 13527-13534. (2011)
Blonde, G., Jiang, E., Garcea, M. and Spector AC . Learning-based recovery from perceptual impairment in salt discrimination after permanently altered peripheral gustatory input.. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol.. 294, R738-R747. (2010)
King CT, Garcea M, Stolzenberg DS, Spector AC. Experimentally cross-wired lingual taste nerves can restore normal unconditioned gaping behavior in response to quinine stimulation. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 294(3):R738-47. (2008)
Dotson CD, Spector AC. Behavioral discrimination between sucrose and other natural sweeteners in mice: implications for the neural coding of T1R ligands. J Neurosci. 27(42):11242-53. (2007)
Spector AC and Kopka, S. L. . Rats fail to discriminate quinine from denatonium: Implications for the neural coding of bitter-tasting compounds.. Journal of Neuroscience. 22, 1937-1941. (2002)
King, C. T., Garcea, M., and Spector AC. Glossopharyngeal nerve regeneration is essential for the complete recovery of quinine-stimulated oromotor rejection behaviors and central patterns of neuronal activity in the nucleus of the solitary tract in the rat . Journal of Neuroscience. 20, 1229-1238. (2000)