Andrew Huberman | Dr. Charles Zuker: The Biology of Taste Perception & Sugar Craving | Huberman Lab Podcast #81 @hubermanlab | Uploaded July 2022 | Updated October 2024, 2 hours ago.
My guest this episode is Dr. Charles Zuker, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics and Neuroscience at Columbia University and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Zuker is the world’s leading expert in the biology of taste, thirst and craving. His laboratory explores the mechanisms of taste perception, focusing on how our conscious and unconscious processing of specific foods and nutrients guide our actions and behaviors. We discuss the neural circuits of taste, the “gut-brain axis,” the basis of food cravings and the key difference between wanting (craving) and liking (perceiving) sugar. We also explore how taste perception relates to specific food satiety, thirst, to our emotions, and expectation. We also consider how sugar containing and highly-processed foods can hijack the natural balance of the taste and digestive systems. Dr. Zuker provides a true masterclass in the biology of taste and perception that ought to be of interest to anyone curious about how the brain works, our motivated behaviors and the neural, chemical perceptual aspects of the mind.
#HubermanLab #Sugar #Taste
Thank you to our sponsors
Thesis: takethesis.com/huberman
ROKA: roka.com/huberman
Helix Sleep: helixsleep.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
livemomentous.com/huberman
Social & Website
Instagram - instagram.com/hubermanlab
Twitter - twitter.com/hubermanlab
Facebook - facebook.com/hubermanlab
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Subscribe to the Huberman Lab Podcast
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3thCToZ
Spotify: spoti.fi/3PYzuFs
Google Podcasts: bit.ly/3amI809
Other platforms: hubermanlab.com/follow
Dr. Charles Zuker
Columbia Zuckerman Institute: https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/charles-s-zuker-phd
Lab website: zukerlab.com
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) profile: hhmi.org/scientists/charles-s-zuker
Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Charles Zuker & Taste Perception
00:03:05 Momentous Supplements
00:04:35 Thesis, ROKA, Helix Sleep
00:08:35 Sensory Detection vs. Sensory Perception
00:11:48 Individual Variations within Perception, Color
00:16:20 Perceptions & Behaviors
00:20:19 The 5 Taste Modalities
00:26:18 Aversive Taste, Bitter Taste
00:28:00 Survival-Based & Evolutionary Reasons for Taste Modalities, Taste vs. Flavor
00:30:14 Additional Taste Modalities: Fat & Metallic Perception
00:34:02 Tongue “Taste Map,” Taste Buds & Taste Receptors
00:39:34 Burning Your Tongue & Perception
00:42:54 The “Meaning” of Taste Stimuli, Sweet vs. Bitter, Valence
00:51:55 Positive vs. Negative Neuronal Activation & Behavior
00:56:16 Acquired Tastes, Conditioned Taste Aversion
01:01:44 Olfaction (Smell) vs. Taste, Changing Tastes over One’s Lifetime
01:09:14 Integration of Odor & Taste, Influence on Behavior & Emotion
01:17:26 Sensitization to Taste, Internal State Modulation, Salt
01:24:05 Taste & Saliva: The Absence of Taste
01:28:10 Sugar & Reward Pleasure Centers; Gut-Brain Axis, Anticipatory Response
01:36:23 Vagus Nerve
01:43:09 Insatiable Sugar Appetite, Liking vs. Wanting, Gut-Brain Axis
01:52:03 Tool: Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners, Curbing Appetite
01:54:06 Cravings & Gut-Brain Axis
01:57:30 Nutrition, Gut-Brain Axis & Changes in Behavior
02:01:53 Fast vs. Slow Signaling & Reinforcement, Highly Processed Foods
02:10:38 Favorite Foods: Enjoyment, Sensation & Context
02:15:58 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter
The Huberman Lab Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - blabacphoto.com
My guest this episode is Dr. Charles Zuker, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Molecular Biophysics and Neuroscience at Columbia University and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Zuker is the world’s leading expert in the biology of taste, thirst and craving. His laboratory explores the mechanisms of taste perception, focusing on how our conscious and unconscious processing of specific foods and nutrients guide our actions and behaviors. We discuss the neural circuits of taste, the “gut-brain axis,” the basis of food cravings and the key difference between wanting (craving) and liking (perceiving) sugar. We also explore how taste perception relates to specific food satiety, thirst, to our emotions, and expectation. We also consider how sugar containing and highly-processed foods can hijack the natural balance of the taste and digestive systems. Dr. Zuker provides a true masterclass in the biology of taste and perception that ought to be of interest to anyone curious about how the brain works, our motivated behaviors and the neural, chemical perceptual aspects of the mind.
#HubermanLab #Sugar #Taste
Thank you to our sponsors
Thesis: takethesis.com/huberman
ROKA: roka.com/huberman
Helix Sleep: helixsleep.com/huberman
Supplements from Momentous
livemomentous.com/huberman
Social & Website
Instagram - instagram.com/hubermanlab
Twitter - twitter.com/hubermanlab
Facebook - facebook.com/hubermanlab
TikTok - tiktok.com/@hubermanlab
Website - hubermanlab.com
Newsletter - hubermanlab.com/neural-network
Subscribe to the Huberman Lab Podcast
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3thCToZ
Spotify: spoti.fi/3PYzuFs
Google Podcasts: bit.ly/3amI809
Other platforms: hubermanlab.com/follow
Dr. Charles Zuker
Columbia Zuckerman Institute: https://zuckermaninstitute.columbia.edu/charles-s-zuker-phd
Lab website: zukerlab.com
Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) profile: hhmi.org/scientists/charles-s-zuker
Timestamps
00:00:00 Dr. Charles Zuker & Taste Perception
00:03:05 Momentous Supplements
00:04:35 Thesis, ROKA, Helix Sleep
00:08:35 Sensory Detection vs. Sensory Perception
00:11:48 Individual Variations within Perception, Color
00:16:20 Perceptions & Behaviors
00:20:19 The 5 Taste Modalities
00:26:18 Aversive Taste, Bitter Taste
00:28:00 Survival-Based & Evolutionary Reasons for Taste Modalities, Taste vs. Flavor
00:30:14 Additional Taste Modalities: Fat & Metallic Perception
00:34:02 Tongue “Taste Map,” Taste Buds & Taste Receptors
00:39:34 Burning Your Tongue & Perception
00:42:54 The “Meaning” of Taste Stimuli, Sweet vs. Bitter, Valence
00:51:55 Positive vs. Negative Neuronal Activation & Behavior
00:56:16 Acquired Tastes, Conditioned Taste Aversion
01:01:44 Olfaction (Smell) vs. Taste, Changing Tastes over One’s Lifetime
01:09:14 Integration of Odor & Taste, Influence on Behavior & Emotion
01:17:26 Sensitization to Taste, Internal State Modulation, Salt
01:24:05 Taste & Saliva: The Absence of Taste
01:28:10 Sugar & Reward Pleasure Centers; Gut-Brain Axis, Anticipatory Response
01:36:23 Vagus Nerve
01:43:09 Insatiable Sugar Appetite, Liking vs. Wanting, Gut-Brain Axis
01:52:03 Tool: Sugar vs. Artificial Sweeteners, Curbing Appetite
01:54:06 Cravings & Gut-Brain Axis
01:57:30 Nutrition, Gut-Brain Axis & Changes in Behavior
02:01:53 Fast vs. Slow Signaling & Reinforcement, Highly Processed Foods
02:10:38 Favorite Foods: Enjoyment, Sensation & Context
02:15:58 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube Feedback, Spotify & Apple Reviews, Sponsors, Momentous Supplements, Instagram, Twitter, Neural Network Newsletter
The Huberman Lab Podcast is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice, and no doctor/patient relationship is formed. The use of information on this podcast or materials linked from this podcast is at the user’s own risk. The content of this podcast is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard or delay in obtaining medical advice for any medical condition they may have and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.
Title Card Photo Credit: Mike Blabac - blabacphoto.com
