Summary
The video discusses the difference between liking and wanting sugar. Liking sugar is determined by the taste system, while wanting sugar is driven by the gut-brain axis. Mice without sweet receptors cannot taste sweetness and will drink equally from bottles containing sugar or artificial sweeteners and water. The mice learn to prefer sugar by associating other sensory features, such as smell and texture, with the feeling of reward from consuming sugar. The gut-brain axis plays a role in mediating our craving for sugar by signaling to the brain. Artificial sweeteners fail to curb our appetite for sugar because they do not activate the gut-brain axis like sugar does.