{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,11]],"date-time":"2026-05-11T18:13:48Z","timestamp":1778523228679,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"Oxford University Press (OUP)","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,1]],"date-time":"2026-01-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1767225600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/academic.oup.com\/pages\/standard-publication-reuse-rights"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,2]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The human primary gustatory cortex (hPGC) resides in the insula. How this region processes and represents taste stimuli is still under investigation. Here, we use ultra-high field (7 Tesla) fMRI to investigate whether the insular cortex discriminates the 5 basic tastes (quality) and the perceived valence of the tastes. Eight healthy young volunteers rated the valence (positive, negative, and neutral) of a series of tastants delivered as small liquid boluses via a gustometer during a preliminary off-line intake session. Functional acquisition was set up to fully cover the insular cortex at high isometric spatial resolution. Using multivariate analyses and the searchlight method, multiclass discrimination accuracy for all basic tastes and their rated valence was assessed separately for each participant. Distinct patterns representing each basic taste could be decoded above chance across several clusters within the middle and posterior insular bilaterally, despite a high degree of spatial variability across participants. Overall, valence decoding was weaker, and the resulting significant clusters showed generally low overlap with those obtained from taste-quality decoding. In agreement with prior reports, these results suggest that taste quality might be encoded in the insular cortex according to individual functional response patterns rather than to an anatomically consistent chemotopic arrangement. Albeit preliminary, this analysis extends this notion by proposing that taste quality and valence are represented by distinct insular cortical clusters.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1093\/chemse\/bjag011","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,28]],"date-time":"2026-04-28T11:53:03Z","timestamp":1777377183000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Ultra-high-field fMRI study of insular discrimination of taste quality and perceived taste valence"],"prefix":"10.1093","volume":"51","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1058-9456","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Antonietta","family":"Canna","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Montreal Neurological Institute, The Neuro. McGill University , Montreal, Quebec ,","place":["Canada"]},{"name":"Department of Medicine, Research Institute of the McGill University Hospital Centre , Montreal, Quebec ,","place":["Canada"]},{"name":"Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University , Maastricht ,","place":["The Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9935-1075","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anne","family":"Roefs","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University , Maastricht ,","place":["The Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2706-3071","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Prinster","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biostructure and Bioimaging Institute, National Research Council , Naples 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Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7389-2033","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elena","family":"Cantone","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pharmacy and Health and Nutritional Sciences, ENT Unit, University of Calabria (UNICAL) , Rende ,","place":["Italy"]},{"name":"Annunziata Hospital, ENT Section , Cosenza ,","place":["Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5008-2460","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Elia","family":"Formisano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University , Maastricht ,","place":["The Netherlands"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0226-8460","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francesco","family":"Di Salle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, \u201cScuola Medica Salernitana\u201d, University of Salerno , Baronissi (Salerno) ,","place":["Italy"]},{"name":"Department of Diagnostic Imaging, University Hospital \u201cSan Giovanni di Dio e Ruggi D'Aragona\u201d , Salerno ,","place":["Italy"]}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5099-9786","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fabrizio","family":"Esposito","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University , Maastricht ,","place":["The Netherlands"]},{"name":"Department of Advanced Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Campania \u201cLuigi Vanvitelli\u201d , Naples 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