1. Contextual control of running-based taste aversion in rats
- Author
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Hashimoto, Aya and Nakajima, Sadahiko
- Subjects
Psychological aspects ,Research ,Psychophysiology -- Research ,Running -- Psychological aspects ,Taste (Sense) -- Psychological aspects ,Taste -- Psychological aspects - Abstract
In rats, voluntary running in an activity wheel yields specific aversion to the taste substance consumed before the running (e.g., Heth, Inglis, Russell, & Pierce, 2001; Lett & Grant, 1996; [...], The present study explored the contextual control of running-based taste aversion in rats by giving rats a salty solution in Context A followed by wheel running and the same solution in Context B without running. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the contextual control of saline aversion was greater for Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats than for Wistar rats, and that the superior performance of the SD rats was maintained even after a 16-day break. Experiment 2 replicated the contextual control in a new set of SD rats, with the same type of bottles/spouts employed in both contexts. Experiment 2 also revealed three features of this context discrimination learning: (a) failure to show conditional control in a two-bottle (saline vs. water) choice test, (b) transfer to tap water intake, and (c) maintenance of good performance after exposure to those contexts without the conditioned taste solution. The theoretical implications of these features are discussed. Key words: conditioned taste aversion, context, wheel running, occasion setting, configural learning, rats
- Published
- 2013