Flavor is in the Brain

April 3, 2013March 5, 2017 Anita flavor, gustatory, olfactory, retronasal olfaction, taste, taste buds, taste receptors

Reference:

Small D.M. (2012). Flavor is in the brain, Physiology & Behavior, 107 (4) 540-552. DOI:10.1016/j.physbeh.2012.04.011

Head and brain anatomy image adapted and modified from Wikimedia commons. Illustration by Anita Ramanathan.

Anita

Anita met neuroscience during her undergraduate project, and it was love at first sight. While majoring in biotechnology at the B.M.S. College of Engineering, Bangalore, she had the opportunity to learn about biochemical subtyping as a method for biomarker discovery in neurodevelopmental disorders. She then pursued a Master’s in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at USC. During her thesis project, her interest in translational neuroscience further evolved as she studied a kinase pathway (PI3K) highly implicated in autism. She currently belongs to the Neuroscience Graduate Program at USC and works on components of the blood-brain barrier and its integrity in animal models of neurological disorders. Outside the lab, Anita is very enthusiastic about educational and scientific storytelling! Some of her parallel interests include consumer psychology and behavior.