Affiliations
Postdoctoral Fellow, Monell Chemical Senses Center
Education
Ph.D, Neuroscience, Fudan University
Laboratory Of
Dr. Yali Zhang
Research Summary
Food texture is an important component of food perception that influences dietary preferences, feeding behavior, and nutritional health. Physical properties such as hardness, viscosity, and elasticity help determine food acceptance and support essential processes including chewing, swallowing, and digestion.
Despite its importance, the biological mechanisms underlying food texture perception remain poorly understood compared with those involved in taste. Impaired food texture perception can also contribute to feeding and nutritional difficulties, particularly in older adults and individuals with swallowing disorders.
Our research investigates the fundamental molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying food texture perception and how this information influences feeding behavior. Using complementary experimental approaches and model systems, we aim to better understand how organisms distinguish foods with different physical properties. These studies may provide broader insights into food perception, nutrition, and feeding-related health.–
Keywords
Food texture; Feeding behavior; Molecular genetics; Nutrition; Sensory physiology
Representative Publications
Chen, J., Gao, Q., Huang, X. Wang, Y. Prognostic clinical indexes for prediction of acute gangrenous cholecystitis and acute purulent cholecystitis. BMC Gastroenterol 22, 491 (2022).
Zhang, YF., Wu, J., Wang, Y. et al. Ventral striatal islands of Calleja neurons bidirectionally mediate depression-like behaviors in mice. Nat Commun 14, 6887 (2023).
Yingqi Wang, Yan Pan, Zhangyin Cai, Chao Lei, Xinli Guo, Dongyang Cui, Yu Yuan, Bin Lai, Ping Zheng, Inputs from paraventricular nucleus of thalamus and locus coeruleus contribute to the activation of central nucleus of amygdala during context-induced retrieval of morphine withdrawal memory, Experimental Neurology, Volume 338, 2021, 113600, ISSN 0014-4886
