My guest this episode is Charles Zuker, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics and Neuroscience at Columbia University and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Zuker is the world’s leading expert in the biology of taste, thirst and craving. His laboratory explores the mechanisms of taste perception, focusing on how our conscious and unconscious processing of specific foods and nutrients guide our actions and behaviors. We discuss the neural circuits of taste, the “gut-brain axis,” the basis of food cravings and the key difference between wanting (craving) and liking (perceiving) sugar. We also explore how taste perception relates to specific food satiety, thirst, to our emotions, and expectation. We also consider how sugar containing and highly-processed foods can hijack the natural balance of the taste and digestive systems. Dr. Zuker provides a true masterclass in the biology of taste and perception that ought to be of interest to anyone curious about how the brain works, our motivated behaviors and the neural, chemical perceptual aspects of the mind.For the full show notes, visit hubermanlab.com.Thank you to our sponsorsAG1: https://athleticgreens.com/hubermanLMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/hubermanlabWaking Up: https://wakingup.com/hubermanMomentous: https://livemomentous.com/hubermanTimestamps

Dr. Charles Zuker & Taste Perception

Sponsors: AG1, LMNT

Sensory Detection vs. Sensory Perception

Individual Variations within Perception, Color

Perceptions & Behaviors

The 5 Taste Modalities

Aversive Taste, Bitter Taste

Survival-Based & Evolutionary Reasons for Taste Modalities, Taste vs. Flavor

Additional Taste Modalities: Fat & Metallic Perception

Tongue “Taste Map,” Taste Buds & Taste Receptors

Burning Your Tongue & Perception

The “Meaning” of Taste Stimuli, Sweet vs. Bitter, Valence

Positive vs. Negative Neuronal Activation & Behavior

Acquired Tastes, Conditioned Taste Aversion

Olfaction (Smell) vs. Taste, Changing Tastes over One’s Lifetime

Integration of Odor & Taste, Influence on Behavior & Emotion

Sensitization to Taste, Internal State Modulation, Salt

Taste & Saliva: The Absence of Taste

Sugar & Reward Pleasure Centers; Gut-Brain Axis, Anticipatory Response

Vagus Nerve

Insatiable Sugar Appetite, Liking vs. Wanting, Gut-Brain Axis

Tool: Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners, Curbing Appetite

Cravings & Gut-Brain Axis

Nutrition, Gut-Brain Axis & Changes in Behavior

Fast vs. Slow Signaling & Reinforcement, Highly Processed Foods

Favorite Foods: Enjoyment, Sensation & Context