title: Ondansetron and Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol interfere with the establishment of lithium-induced conditioned taste avoidance in the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus).
abstract: Considerable evidence suggests that rats can learn to avoid a taste in the absence of nausea. The current experiments evaluated the potential of the antiemetic agents, ondansetron (OND) and delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), to interfere with lithium chloride (LiCl)-induced taste avoidance in the house musk shrew, Suncus murinus, an insectivore that, unlike rats, is capable of vomiting. At a dose that did not modify saccharin (Experiment 1) or sucrose (Experiment 2) intake, OND prevented the establishment of LiCl-induced taste avoidance in the shrew. A low dose of THC (1 mg/kg), which did not modify sucrose intake during conditioning, also prevented the establishment of LiCl-induced taste avoidance in the shrew. Higher doses of THC were also effective, but they also suppressed sucrose consumption during conditioning. These results suggest that nausea is a necessary component of the unconditioned stimulus for the establishment of conditioned taste avoidance in the shrew, unlike the rat, which does not vomit when injected with a toxin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
authors.forename: Magdalena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kwiatkowska
authors.forename: Linda A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Parker
mesh_terms: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D013759:Dronabinol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004347:Drug Interactions; D005260:Female; D008094:Lithium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D017294:Ondansetron / Q000494:pharmacology*; D012439:Saccharin / Q000008:administration & dosage; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D012788:Shrews; D013549:Sweetening Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste; D014839:Vomiting / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000503:physiopathology
chemical_list: D018712:Analgesics, Non-Narcotic; D012702:Serotonin Antagonists; D013549:Sweetening Agents; D017294:Ondansetron; D013759:Dronabinol; D008094:Lithium; D012439:Saccharin