Ontogeny of consummatory successive negative contrast in rats.
Consummatory successive negative contrast (cSNC) occurs when organisms repeatedly exposed to a high-magnitude reward are suddenly given a low-magnitude reward. This results in a significant reduction in the consumption of the devalued reinforcer, at a level even below that of a group which had been always exposed to the low-magnitude reinforcer. A scarcity of animal studies assessed the expression of this phenomenon during early development. Three experiments assessed age of cSNC onset in preweanling rats. Percent body weight gained (%BWG) and taste reactions associated with reinforcement devaluation were measured. A reduction in %BWG and a significant increase in emission of aversive hedonic behaviors, indicative of cSNC, occurred on postnatal day 18 (PD 18; Experiments 1 and 2), but not on PD 14 or PD 17 (Experiments 3a and 3b). The neurobiological mechanisms underlying these effects and theoretical implications are discussed.
Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Aplicada, IDIM, CONICET - UBA-Centro de Altos Estudios en Ciencias Humanas y de la Salud (CAECIHS-UAI), Universidad Abierta Interamericana, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Andrea B
AB
Suárez
Alba E
AE
Mustaca
Ricardo M
RM
Pautassi
Giselle V
GV
Kamenetzky
D000818:Animals; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005639:Frustration; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012201:Reward; D013395:Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D013649:Taste / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*
D013395:Sucrose
consummatory contrast; disgust; ontogeny; rats