Narrative review synthesizes neural activation patterns in the caudate nucleus and dorsal striatum during gustatory stimulation

This narrative review synthesizes current understanding of neural activation patterns within the caudate nucleus and dorsal striatum during gustatory stimulation. The scope covers responses to different metabolic states, motivation, and hedonic value. The authors report that these regions show consistent activation during such stimulation.

The review further describes interactions between these subcortical regions and areas involved in reward and emotional processing. These interactions occur across both healthy individuals and those with disease. The authors do not provide specific effect sizes or absolute numbers for these observations.

The authors acknowledge significant limitations, noting that experimental designs are frequently heterogeneous. They state that more evidence is needed to elucidate the link between taste and these subcortical regions. Funding or conflicts of interest were not reported. The practice relevance may provide new perspectives on the neural substrates of chemosensation and potential targets for taste-related interventions.