Perturbation of amygdala-cortical projections reduces ensemble coherence of palatability coding in gustatory cortex

Taste palatability is centrally involved in consumption decisions--we ingest foods that taste good and reject those that dont. Gustatory cortex (GC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) almost certainly work together to mediate palatability-driven behavior, but the precise nature of their interplay during taste decision-making is still unknown. To probe this issue, we discretely perturbed (with optogenetics) activity in BLA[->]GC axons during taste deliveries. This perturbation strongly altered GC taste responses, but while the perturbation itself was tonic (2s), the alterations were not--changes preferentially aligned with the onset times of previously-described taste response epochs, and reduced evidence of palatability-related activity in the "late-epoch" of the responses without reducing the amount of taste identity information available in the "middle epoch." Finally, BLA[->]GC perturbations changed behavior-linked taste response dynamics themselves, distinctively diminishing the abruptness of ensemble transitions into the late epoch. These results suggest that BLA "organizes" behavior-related GC taste dynamics.