Effects of Swim Stress on Ne ophobia and Re conditioning Using a Conditioned Taste Aversion Procedure

Previous research has found that swim stress during a classical conditioning trial attenuates conditioned taste aversion (CTA). In the current study, rats were used to examine the effects of inescapable swim stress on the habituation of neophobia to a flavored solution and reacquisition of an extinguished conditioned taste aversion. In Experiment 1, subjects were initially exposed to a taste, with some subjects receiving a swim experience to assess the level of neophobia on a subsequent taste-exposure test. Rats in Experiment 2 were given a taste-LiCl trial followed by extensive CS-alone extinction trials. Subjects then received the taste-LiCl pairing again, followed for some by a swim experience to examine its effect on subsequent reconditioning. Swim stress influenced CS processing on the final extinction trial. Thus, reacquisition was attenuated by swim, but there was no effect of swim stress on the attenuation of neophobia. These results are discussed in terms of the effects of stress on CS processing.