In a prior study, we showed that trying to detect a taste in a tasteless solution results in enhanced activity in the gustatory and attention networks. The aim of the current study was to use connectivity analyses to test if and how these networks interact during directed attention to taste. We predicted that the attention network modulates taste cortex, reflecting top-down enhancement of incoming sensory signals that are relevant to goal-directed behavior. fMRI was used to measure brain responses in 14 subjects as they performed two different tasks: (1) trying to detect a taste in a solution or (2) passively perceiving the same solution. We used psychophysiological interaction analysis to identify regions demonstrating increased connectivity during a taste attention task compared to passive tasting. We observed greater connectivity between the anterior cingulate cortex and the frontal eye fields, posterior parietal cortex, and parietal operculum and between the anterior cingulate cortex and the right anterior insula and frontal operculum. These results suggested that selective attention to taste is mediated by a hierarchical circuit in which signals are first sent from the frontal eye fields, posterior parietal cortex, and parietal operculum to the anterior cingulate cortex, which in turn modulates responses in the anterior insula and frontal operculum. We then tested this prediction using dynamic causal modeling. This analysis confirmed a model of indirect modulation of the gustatory cortex, with the strongest influence coming from the frontal eye fields via the anterior cingulate cortex. In summary, the results indicate that the attention network modulates the gustatory cortex during attention to taste and that the anterior cingulate cortex acts as an intermediary processing hub between the attention network and the gustatory cortex.

中文翻译：

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功能性磁共振成像研究注意和味觉网络之间的相互作用。

在先前的研究中，我们表明尝试检测无味溶液中的味道会导致味觉和注意力网络的活动增强。当前研究的目的是使用连通性分析来测试在定向关注品味时这些网络是否相互作用以及如何相互作用。我们预测注意力网络会调节味觉皮层，反映出与目标导向行为相关的传入感觉信号的自上而下的增强。功能磁共振成像用于测量14位受试者的大脑反应，因为他们执行了两项不同的任务：（1）尝试检测溶液中的味道，或（2）被动感知相同的溶液。我们使用心理生理学相互作用分析来确定与被动品尝相比，在注意力关注任务中显示出增加的连通性的区域。我们观察到前扣带回皮层与额叶视野，后顶叶皮层和顶and之间以及前扣带状皮层与右前岛和额front之间的连通性更高。这些结果表明，对味觉的选择性关注是由一个层次电路介导的，首先从额叶视野，后顶叶皮层和顶提供信号到前扣带回皮层，进而调节前岛和额叶的反应。盖。然后，我们使用动态因果模型测试了此预测。该分析证实了味觉皮质的间接调制模型，其中最强的影响来自额叶视野通过前扣带回皮质。总之，