The Neuroscience of Obesity

Nicholas Ryba Ph.D., Senior Investigator, Taste & Smell Section, Sensory Biology, NIH NIDCR, Bethesda, MD

Topic: “New Approaches for Understanding the Molecular Basis of Sensory Detection and Perception”

Dr. Ryba uses modern molecular and neuroscience approaches to study taste and other sensory systems. He and colleagues have cloned several of the taste receptors, exposed the logic of taste coding at the level of the tongue, and explore how taste is represented and encoded in the brain to control behavior.