title: A brief-access test for bitter taste in mice.
abstract: Inbred mouse strains vary in their response to bitter-tasting compounds as assessed by 48 h preference tests. These differences are generally assumed to result from altered gustatory function, although such long-term tests could easily reflect additional factors. We developed a brief-access taste test and tested the responses of two inbred strains, as well as C3. SW congenic mice, to the bitter stimulus sucrose octaacetate (SOA). Water-deprived trained mice were tested with five concentrations of SOA (0.00018-0.18 mM) and distilled water in a Davis MS- 160 apparatus. Trials were 5 s in duration and stimuli were presented randomly within blocks; each stimulus trial was preceded by a water rinse trial. Each concentration was presented twice in a session and mice were repeatedly tested across consecutive days. SOA-taster mice, including the SWR/J (SW) inbred and C3. SW congenic taster (T) mice, avoided licking SOA at concentrations >0.003 mM. In comparison, C3HeB/FeJ (C3) and C3. SW demitaster mice (D) licked all concentrations at the same rate as water. Concentration-response functions were similar across strains for both the brief-access test and a parallel 48 h preference test run on separate groups of mice. Furthermore, concentration-response functions were similar whether or not the brief-access test was preceded by a 4 day, single concentration pretest with SOA. The brief-access test is a suitable assay for bitter taste function in mice because it minimizes possible post-ingestive influences on taste.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Program in Neuroscience, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201-1509, USA. jboughte@umaryland.edu
authors.forename: John D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Boughter
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: St John
authors.forename: Derek T
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Noel
authors.forename: Obinna
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ndubuizu
authors.forename: David V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D020297:Mice, Congenic; D012737:Sex Factors; D013395:Sucrose / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D013652:Taste Threshold; D013997:Time Factors; D014867:Water / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D014867:Water; C026879:sucrose octaacetate; D013395:Sucrose