| Abstract: | Conducted 3 experiments with 50 young adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Thirsty Ss habituated to drinking .12 M sodium chloride accepted .12 M lithium chloride for 5 min on the 1st trial but stopped short of their sodium baseline. With repeated trials they reduced consumption of the toxin by either (a) detecting subtle oral CS differences, thus avoiding toxicosis (UCS) or (b) detecting earlier signs of malaise (UCS), thus escaping further distress. When both solutions were masked with saccharin, discrimination was more difficult but still possible. When both solutions were mixed in a solution masking all 4 taste qualities, discrimination was severely disrupted. When oral sensors were bypassed with nasopharyngeal tubes, intragastric pumping Ss were unable to use postingestional cues to escape, even though such cues were proximal to the ultimate malaise. Oral cues at the distal end of the consummatory chain were extremely effective. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
