Relative taste thresholds for ethanol, saccharin, and quinine solutions in three strains of rats nonselected for ethanol: a comparative study.
C. P. Richter and K. H. Campbell (1940b) originally defined taste threshold as "the point at which the rats first indicated that they recognized a difference between the distilled water and the solutions" (p. 34). The present study sought to apply this simple behavioral measure to the investigation of strain differences in taste sensitivities, particularly with respect to predictive relationships in ethanol, saccharin, and quinine preference. Fawn-Hooded, Lewis, and Wistar rats were presented with gradual increments in concentration of ethanol (0.01-15%; C. P. Richter & K. H. Campbell, 1940a), saccharin (0.002-3%) or quinine (0.0001-0.0055). Results showed that although intake for saccharin was similar in all strains, consumption of ethanol and quinine differed among the groups. Although previous research has proposed that sweet preference is a promising behavioral marker for ethanol preference, these results suggested that bitter preference may be a more reliable predictor of ethanol preference in rats.
Goodwin
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FL
Center for Studies in Behavioral Neurobiology, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Goodwin@CSBN.Concordia.CA
Amit
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Z
D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D000431:Ethanol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D011803:Quinine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012439:Saccharin / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000187:drug effects*
D002492:Central Nervous System Depressants; D000431:Ethanol; D011803:Quinine; D012439:Saccharin