Sodium deficient rats are unmotivated by sodium chloride solutions mixed with the sodium channel blocker amiloride.
Rats were made sodium deficient by furosemide injection and then offered 20 min of access to 0.05 M NaCl mixed with the sodium channel blocker amiloride. Compared with a sodium deficient control group that was also offered 0.05 M NaCl, these rats drank very little. A subsequent test conducted in the same manner with 20 min of access to 0.3 M NaCl mixed with amiloride produced similar results. It is concluded that amiloride blocks the neural information required for generating the attractive taste of NaCl to the sodium deficient rat.
McCutcheon
N B
NB
Department of Psychology, University at Albany, State University of New York 12222.
D000584:Amiloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015222:Sodium Channels / Q000187:drug effects*; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects*; D013650:Taste Buds / Q000187:drug effects*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000187:drug effects; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance / Q000187:drug effects*
D012462:Saline Solution, Hypertonic; D015222:Sodium Channels; D000584:Amiloride