Amiloride does not alter NaCl avoidance in Fischer-344 rats.
Fischer-344 (F-344) rats differ from other common rat strains in that they fail to show any preference for NaCl at any concentration in two-bottle preference tests. Because 100 microM amiloride partially blocks the NaCl-evoked chorda tympani (CT) response in electrophysiological studies, we tested NaCl preference (0.068-0.273 M) in F-344 rats with and without 100 microM amiloride solution as the solvent. A third group was tested with unadulterated NaCl solutions following CT transection. Amiloride had no significant effect on the NaCl preference-aversion function, whereas CT transection significantly reduced NaCl avoidance. These results suggest that the amiloride-sensitive component of the NaCl response is not necessary for F-344 rats to display avoidance of NaCl, but the entire CT input is.
Chappell
J P
JP
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611, USA.
St John
S J
SJ
Spector
A C
AC
D000584:Amiloride / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D002814:Chorda Tympani Nerve / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D012965:Sodium Chloride; D000584:Amiloride