title: NaCl detection thresholds: comparison of Fischer 344 and Wistar rats.
abstract: Adult Fischer 344 (F344) rats fail to display any preference for NaCl solutions at concentrations typically preferred by other rat strains. To determine whether this behavior is due to a strain difference in NaCl detection threshold, a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) was first established to a suprathreshold concentration of NaCl (0.1 M). Then, a series of dilute NaCl solutions, ranging from 0.0 to 0.011 M NaCl, were presented to F344 (n = 16) and Wistar (n = 16) rats. The lowest concentration at which there was a reliable difference in the preference scores of conditioned and control rats was defined as the detection threshold. Results indicate that the detection threshold for NaCl lies between 0.001 and 0.002 M NaCl for both F344 and Wistar rats. The addition of the sodium channel blocker amiloride to the NaCl solutions raised the detection threshold 10-fold to 0.03-0.04 M NaCl for both strains of rats. These results suggest that the NaCl detection thresholds of F344 and Wistar rats are similar and that these strains do not differ in the degree to which amiloride raises this threshold.
authors: Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA. sclarke@u.washington.edu
authors: S N
authors: SN
authors: Clarke
authors: M T
authors: MT
authors: Koh
authors: I L
authors: IL
authors: Bernstein
mesh_terms: D000584:Amiloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D003213:Conditioning, Psychological; D004232:Diuretics / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011916:Rats, Inbred F344; D012684:Sensory Thresholds; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000737:chemistry*; D013045:Species Specificity; D013649:Taste; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D004232:Diuretics; D026941:Sodium Channel Blockers; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D000584:Amiloride