Alcohol-induced conditioned taste aversions in chemically labyrinthectomized rats.
Male rats were chemically labyrinthectomized (n = 22) by intratympanic injections of sodium arsanilate, and control rats (n = 15) received intratympanic injections of isotonic saline. All rats were tested for labyrinthine integrity and then adjusted to a 23 h.d-1 water deprivation schedule. Both labyrinthectomized and control rats were exposed to a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) procedure or a control procedure. The CTA technique involved pairing a novel saccharin taste with subsequent intraperitoneal injection of ethanol (1.5 g.kg-1; 15% solution). The control CTA procedure paired a novel saccharin taste with injections of isotonic saline. Following two conditioning trials and 3 d of water only, saccharin preference ratios were obtained in two-bottle choice tests (saccharin vs. water) over 4 consecutive days. Control rats conditioned with ethanol exhibited a strong CTA (p < 0.01) relative to control rats injected with saline. Labyrinthectomized rats drinking saccharin followed by ethanol injections showed a strong CTA (p < 0.01) if conditioning occurred 29-30 d post-labyrinthectomy. However, CTA's were not apparent in labyrinthectomized rats conditioned with ethanol 19 d post-labyrinthectomy. Thus, ethanol-induced CTA formation varied across the post-labyrinthectomy time period.
Ossenkopp
K P
KP
Neuroscience Program, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.
Rabi
Y J
YJ
Eckel
L A
LA
D000818:Animals; D001147:Arsanilic Acid; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects*; D007758:Ear, Inner / Q000502:physiology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects*; D013997:Time Factors
D000431:Ethanol; D001147:Arsanilic Acid