title: Ingestion, suckling, and the problem of identity: using criteria in the classification of ingestive behavior.
abstract: The data reported by Nizhnikov et al. [Newborn rats first suckling experience: taste differentiation and suckling plasticity (2002)] do not support the authors' claim that they shed light on suckling mechanisms. A number of accepted criteria for identifying suckling are discussed in this review. The ingestion of various fluids through a plastic tube by neonatal or other rats does not meet any of these criteria. Thus, while the data reported by Nizhnikov et al. [Newborn rats first suckling experience: taste differentiation and suckling plasticity (2002)] are of interest from the perspective of infant capabilities, they do not shed light on the determinants of actual nipple attachment or suckling as they may naturally occur.
authors.affiliation: Program of Neuroscience and Behavior, Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Tobin Hall, Amherst, MA 01003, USA. eblass@medusas.umass.edu
authors.forename: Elliott M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Blass
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling / Q000523:psychology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000145:classification*; D010551:Personality / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D013391:Sucking Behavior