Aversion conditioning and enhanced neophobia: role of test stimuli.
In Experiment 1, 100 rats (Rattus norvegicus) received 10% sucrose or 5% casein hydrolysate followed, after 10 min, by a LiCl or saline injection or, after 12 h, by a LiCl injection. Subsequently, rats received aversion testing to the CS or neophobia testing to the opposite novel flavor. Aversion effects were reliably greater to casein than to sucrose. However, conditioning with sucrose yielded a reliably greater increase in neophobia to casein (relative to controls) than conditioning with casein yielded to sucrose. In Experiment 2, 60 rats received distilled water followed, after 10 min, by LiCl or saline injection or, after 12 h, by LiCl injection. Aversion effects occurred to distilled water. Neophobia testing to casein and sucrose showed that, relative to controls, neophobia increased reliably more to casein. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 were not attributable to differences in baseline intakes between casein and sucrose flavors. Together, these experiments indicated that the demonstration of conditioning-enhanced neophobia may depend more on the characteristics of the neophobia test flavor than on the strength of aversion established because of CS characteristics.
D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D002364:Caseins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000502:physiology*; D004327:Drinking Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007274:Injections, Intraperitoneal; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
D002364:Caseins; D013395:Sucrose