Novel food and novel running wheels: Conditions for inhibition of sucrose intake in rats.

In 3 experiments with ARS/Sprague-Dawley albino rats it was found that both males (n = 16) and females (n = 40), when first given free access to running wheels, showed a marked reduction in sucrose intake relative to stock diet intake when the sucrose was novel. Further tests showed that both the novelty of the sucrose and the novelty of the running wheel were necessary for the inhibition of sucrose intake. The selective inhibition of sucrose intake is considered to be an example of neophobia in the domestic rat. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)