Low body temperature affects associative processes in long-trace conditioned flavor aversion.
A series of experiments examined the effect of low body temperature on the associative process in long-trace conditioned flavor aversion. Experiment 1 demonstrated that maintaining a low body temperature between conditioned stimulus (CS) and unconditioned stimulus (US) administration facilitates the associative process and allows a flavor aversion to be conditioned in young rats over an interval that would normally not support conditioning. Experiments 2 and 3 demonstrated that this was due neither to lingering systemic saccharin serving as a CS nor to a cold induced enhancement of US intensity. Experiment 4 demonstrated that inducing hypothermia at various times during a 3-h CS-US interval results in an apparent delay of reinforcement gradient. We propose that a cold induced decrease in metabolic rate slows the internal clock that governs the perception of time and that the CS-US association depends upon perceived contiguity rather than upon an external clock-referenced contiguity.
Misanin
J R
JR
Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania 17870-1001, USA. misanin@susqu.edu
Wilson
H A
HA
Schwarz
P R
PR
Tuschak
J B
JB
Hinderliter
C F
CF
D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001244:Association; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D003214:Conditioning, Classical / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005518:Food Preferences; D007036:Hypothermia, Induced; D018021:Lithium Chloride / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012439:Saccharin / Q000494:pharmacology; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013998:Time Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology
D012439:Saccharin; D018021:Lithium Chloride