%0 Journal Article %A Diego E. Berman %A Shoshi Hazvi %A Kobi Rosenblum %A Rony Seger %A Yadin Dudai %T Specific and Differential Activation of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascades by Unfamiliar Taste in the Insular Cortex of the Behaving Rat %D 1998 %R 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.18-23-10037.1998 %J The Journal of Neuroscience %P 10037-10044 %V 18 %N 23 %X Rats were given to drink an unfamiliar taste solution under conditions that result in long-term memory of that taste. The insular cortex, which contains the taste cortex, was then removed and assayed for activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades by using antibodies to the activated forms of various MAPKs. Extracellular responsive kinase 1–2 (ERK1–2) in the cortical homogenate was significantly activated within <30 min of drinking the taste solution, without alteration in the total level of the ERK1–2 proteins. The activity subsided to basal levels within <60 min. In contrast, ERK1–2 was not activated when the taste was made familiar. The effect of the unfamiliar taste was specific to the insular cortex. Jun N-terminal kinase 1–2 (JNK1–2) was activated by drinking the taste but with a delayed time course, whereas the activity of Akt kinase and p38MAPK remained unchanged. Elk-1, a member of the ternary complex factor and an ERK/JNK downstream substrate, was activated with a time course similar to that of ERK1–2. Microinjection of a reversible inhibitor of MAPK/ERK kinase into the insular cortex shortly before exposure to the novel taste in a conditioned taste aversion training paradigm attenuated long-term taste aversion memory without significantly affecting short-term memory or the sensory, motor, and motivational faculties required to express long-term taste aversion memory. It was concluded that ERK and JNK are specifically and differentially activated in the insular cortex after exposure to a novel taste, and that this activation is required for consolidation of long-term taste memory. %U https://www.jneurosci.org/content/jneuro/18/23/10037.full.pdf