Afferent interactions of cranial nerves involved in ingestion.

Substantial behavioral evidence implicates visceral afferent activity in the regulation of feeding behavior. One mechanism often suggested for this influence involves visceral afferent activity interacting with oral or gustatory afferent activity. This brief review summarizes the anatomical and electrophysiological evidence that indicates that such interactions might in fact take place. The available evidence for interactions between visceral and gustatory afferent messages is far from convincing, but perhaps only because the issue has seldom been addressed. The most direct tests suggested by the hypothesis advanced remain to be carried out.