The effect of bilateral sectioning of the chorda tympani and the greater superficial petrosal nerves on the sweet taste in the rat.

The effects of bilateral deafferentation of the greater superficial petrosal (GSP) and the chorda tympani (CT) nerves on the ingestion of sucrose solutions were studied in rats. The rats received five daily sequential 30 second exposures for each sucrose concentration, and the average number of licks per exposure was calculated. Sucrose concentrations of 0.01, 0.03, 0.10, 0.32, and 1.00 M were presented in ascending order across days, both before and after bilateral sectioning of both the CT and the GSP nerves, the CT alone, the GSP alone, or a sham surgery. Prior to surgery, mean lick rate increased with increasing concentrations of sucrose. Following surgery, the rats with combined GSP and CT nerve sections showed a significant decrease in mean rate of licking to the sucrose solutions. The rats with GSP sections showed a similar decrease in mean lick rate to the sucrose solutions. Animals with sections of the CT nerve and sham-operated animals showed no significant reduction in mean lick rate to the sucrose solutions. These results indicate that the GSP nerve is important to the rat in reinforcing high lick rates to sucrose.