Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dncjsxmdf

Description of the data and file structure

Taste information is transmitted to the brain via branches of cranial nerves VII (chorda tympani, CT, and greater superficial petrosal, GSP), IX (glossopharyngeal, GL), and X (superior laryngeal branch of the vagus) with each nerve innervating relatively segregated fields of taste buds on the tongue, palate, and laryngeal epithelium. Approximately 70% of taste buds reside on the tongue and are innervated by the CT or GL. Previously we found that rats offered a 5-choice cafeteria diet after combined transection of the CT and GL (2NX) ate more fat, less sugar, and larger, but fewer meals each day resulting in no net change in total daily energy intake and suggesting a role for the CT and/or GL in food choice, regulation of macronutrient intake, and satiation signaling, but the role of the individual nerves was unclear. To begin identifying the role of each nerve, this experiment aimed to interrogate the effects of transection of the GL (GLX) on food choice and meal patterns in rats offered a cafeteria diet after recovery from GLX or SHAM surgery. We found that GLX did not affect fat intake or meal patterns, but, compared with SHAM-operated controls, GLX rats had lower sugar intake, driven largely by a heightened preference for the food choice with low fat and low sugar content. These findings indicate that the GLX alone is not responsible for the elevated fat intake or meal size found in rats after 2NX, but could be solely responsible for noted reductions in sugar intake.

Data sheets included are:

• BW - bodyweight of animals in grams
• foods - proportion of energy intake from each food choice
• MACRONUTRIENTS - proportion of energy intake from each macronutrient
• KCAL_MEALNO_MEALSZK - Total energy intake in kilocalories, number of meals per day, and average meal size in kilocalories during PC and CAF
• MEALSZG_MEALDUR - Average meal size in grams, average meal duration in seconds during PC and CAF
• RATEG_RATEK - Average meal eating rate in grams/minute and kilocalories per minute
• FOODS_PER_MEAL_PMP - Average number of intake sources (number of jars + number of fluid bottles) and average duration of pauses after meals in seconds
• FIRST_MEAL_SZ - Size of first meal during each day of meal pattern monitoring shown in grams and kilocalories ("n/a" in these data represent a first meal of only water)
• FIRST_MEAL_LAT_DUR_RATE - Data for the first meal of each daily meal pattern monitoring: latency to begin eating the first meal in seconds, duration of the first meal in seconds, eating rate of first meal in grams/minute
• FIRST_MEAL_FOODS_PER_MEAL_PMP - Number of intake sources (food jars + fluid bottles ) during first meal and pause after first meal in seconds during. each daily meal pattern monitoring session
• FIRST_MEAL_FOODS - First meal data: proportion of first meal energy intake from each of the 5 food choices
• FIRST_MEAL_MACROS - proportion of first meal energy intake from each macronutrient

Key Column Names

Definition of Abbreviations

Access information

Other publicly accessible locations of the data:

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Data was derived from the following sources:

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