title: Comparison of differences between PWD/PhJ and C57BL/6J mice in calcium solution preferences and chorda tympani nerve responses.
abstract: We used the C57BL/6J (B6) and PWD/PhJ (PWD) mouse strains to investigate the controls of calcium intake. Relative to the B6 strain, the PWD strain had higher preferences in two-bottle choice tests for CaCl(2), calcium lactate (CaLa), MgCl(2), citric acid and quinine hydrochloride, but not for sucrose, KCl or NaCl. We also measured taste-evoked chorda tympani (CT) nerve activity in response to oral application of these compounds. Electrophysiological results paralleled the preference test results, with larger responses in PWD than in B6 mice for those compounds that were more highly preferred for the former strain. The strain differences were especially large for tonic, rather than phasic, chorda tympani activity. These data establish the PWD strain as a "calcium-preferring" strain and suggest that differences between B6 and PWD mice in taste transduction or a related peripheral event contributes to the differences between the strains in preferences for calcium solutions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Health Science, Ball State University, Muncie, IN 47306, USA.
authors.forename: Chandra M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Cherukuri
authors.forename: Stuart A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: McCaughey
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Tordoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002118:Calcium / Q000494:pharmacology*; D017610:Calcium Compounds / Q000494:pharmacology; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D002814:Chorda Tympani Nerve / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D019343:Citric Acid / Q000494:pharmacology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D007773:Lactates / Q000494:pharmacology; D015636:Magnesium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D011189:Potassium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D011803:Quinine / Q000494:pharmacology; D012965:Sodium Chloride / Q000494:pharmacology; D013045:Species Specificity; D013395:Sucrose / Q000494:pharmacology; D055697:Taste Perception / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D017610:Calcium Compounds; D007773:Lactates; D015636:Magnesium Chloride; D019343:Citric Acid; C110051:calcium lactate; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013395:Sucrose; D011189:Potassium Chloride; D011803:Quinine; D002118:Calcium