Dr. Michelle Bales
Postdoctoral Associate
Psychology
PDB C351
645-8123
bales@neuro.fsu.edu
- Interest
- Food choice has a major influence on health and one of the most primary and salient cues guiding nutrient consumption is taste. Accordingly, discerning how the brain processes taste information is imperative to help address the spectrum of feeding- and nutrition-related disorders. I use psychophysical methods and neuronal tracing techniques to reveal the behavioral and neuroanatomical contributions of the gustatory cortex, a critical higher-order brain region in the gustatory system.
- Recent Publications
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Bales MB, Schier LA, Blonde GD, Spector AC (2015). Extensive Gustatory Cortex Lesions Significantly Impair Taste Sensitivity to KCl and Quinine but Not to Sucrose in Rats. PLoS One, . PubMed Blonde GD, Bales MB, Spector AC (2015). Extensive lesions in rat insular cortex significantly disrupt taste sensitivity to NaCl and KCl and slow salt discrimination learning. PLoS One, . PubMed Schier LA, Hashimoto K, Bales MB, Blonde GD, Spector AC (2014). High-resolution lesion-mapping strategy links a hot spot in rat insular cortex with impaired expression of taste aversion learning. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 1162-7. PubMed Torregrossa AM, Nikonova L, Bales MB, Villalobos Leal M, Smith JC, Contreras RJ, Eckel LA (2014). Induction of salivary proteins modifies measures of both orosensory and postingestive feedback during exposure to a tannic acid diet. PLoS One, e105232. PubMed Torregrossa AM, Bales MB, Breza JM, Houpt TA, Smith JC, Contreras RJ (2012). Water restriction and fluid temperature alter preference for water and sucrose solutions. Chem Senses, 279-92. PubMed
Faculty Advisor
Linda Rinaman, Psychology