Essentials: The Biology of Taste Perception & Sugar Craving | Dr. Charles Zuker

必需品:味觉感知的生物学与糖分渴望 | 卓克博士

Huberman Lab

2026-03-05

34 分钟
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In this Huberman Lab Essentials episode, my guest is Dr. Charles Zuker, PhD, a professor of biochemistry, molecular biophysics and neuroscience at Columbia University and an Investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). We explore taste perception and how the brain transforms chemical signals from food into distinct taste experiences. We discuss how these taste signals shape both conscious choices and unconscious behavior, as well as how food preferences can change over time. Additionally, we discuss gut–brain signaling and explain why sugar is especially powerful at driving cravings. Read the episode show notes at hubermanlab.com. Thank you to our sponsors AG1: https://drinkag1.com/huberman LMNT: https://drinklmnt.com/huberman Function: https://functionhealth.com/huberman Timestamps (00:00:00) Charles Zuker (00:00:20) Senses & Perception (00:02:29) Taste, 5 Taste Qualities & Dietary Needs (00:05:49) Taste vs Flavor (00:07:05) Sponsor: AG1 (00:07:56) Taste Buds; Bitter (00:09:45) Sweet vs Bitter, Sensory Perception from Tongue to Brain (00:12:47) Taste Plasticity & Changing Food Preferences (00:14:13) Taste Modulation; Salt (00:17:08) Sponsor: LMNT (00:18:41) Gut-Brain Signaling (00:23:14) Sugar Appetite & Gut-Brain Axis (00:27:42) Sponsor: Function (00:29:21) Artificial Sweeteners, Sugar Cravings (00:30:37) Taste & Essential Nutrients; Highly Processed Foods; Brain & Food Choices (00:34:11) Acknowledgements Disclaimer & Disclosures Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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  • Welcome to Huberman Lab Essentials,

  • where we revisit past episodes for the most potent and actionable science-based tools for mental health,

  • physical health, and performance.

  • I'm Andrew Huberman,

  • and I'm a professor of neurobiology and ophthalmology at Stanford School of Medicine.

  • And now for my discussion with Dr.

  • Charles Zucker.

  • Charles, thank you so much for joining me today.

  • My pleasure.

  • I want to ask you about many things related to taste,

  • and gustatory perception, but maybe to start off,

  • and because you've worked on a number of different topics in neuroscience, not just taste,

  • how should the world and people think about perception, how it's different from sensation,

  • and what leads to our experience of life in terms of vision, hearing, taste, et cetera?

  • The world is made of real things.

  • You know, this here is a glass, and this is a cord, and this is a microphone.

  • But the brain is only made of neurons that only understand electrical signals.

  • So how do you transform that reality into nothing but electrical signals that now need to represent the world?

  • And that process is what we can operationally define as perception.

  • In the senses, let's say olfactory, odor, taste,