title: The effect of taste familiarity on intake and taste reactivity in infant rats.
abstract: With infant rats, unlike with adults, increased intake of a taste after mere exposure to this stimulus is not consistently found; this has sometimes been interpreted as a failure by the immature subject to recognize tastes as familiar. We studied the effect of preexposure to a tastant, measuring taste reactivity and intake in 14-day-old rats. Familiarity increased hedonic response to sucrose, but also increased aversive response to quinine and ethanol. With the sucrose-quinine compound, familiarity increased both the hedonic and the aversive reaction to the stimulus. In no case was a differential reactivity to water observed. Significant increased intake after familiarization was only found with quinine or the sucrose-quinine compound. Results indicate that in infant rats, and with the present parameters, taste familiarity enhances responsiveness to these stimuli, an effect not always accompanied by detectable changes in intake.
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Psicología Universidad del País Vasco UPV-EHU Avda de Tolosa, 70 20018 San Sebastian, Spain.
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Diaz-Cenzano
authors.forename: M Gabriela
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Chotro
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D000833:Animals, Suckling; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D011803:Quinine / Q000008:administration & dosage; D051381:Rats; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D013652:Taste Threshold / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D014741:Video Recording
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol; D013395:Sucrose; D011803:Quinine