Alcohol-induced conditioned taste aversions in chemically labyrinthectomized rats

• Published in: Aviation, space, and environmental medicine Vol. 65; no. 9; p. 824
• Main Authors: Ossenkopp, K P, Rabi, Y J, Eckel, L A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01-09-1994
• Subjects: Animals; Arsanilic Acid; Conditioning, Classical - drug effects; Ear, Inner - physiology; Ethanol - pharmacology; Male; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Taste - drug effects; Time Factors
• ISSN: 0095-6562

Male rats were chemically labyrinthectomized (n = 22) by intratympanic injections of sodium arsanilate, and control rats (n = 15) received intratympanic injections of isotonic saline. All rats were tested for labyrinthine integrity and then adjusted to a 23 h.d-1 water deprivation schedule. Both labyrinthectomized and control rats were exposed to a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) procedure or a control procedure. The CTA technique involved pairing a novel saccharin taste with subsequent intraperitoneal injection of ethanol (1.5 g.kg-1; 15% solution). The control CTA procedure paired a novel saccharin taste with injections of isotonic saline. Following two conditioning trials and 3 d of water only, saccharin preference ratios were obtained in two-bottle choice tests (saccharin vs. water) over 4 consecutive days. Control rats conditioned with ethanol exhibited a strong CTA (p < 0.01) relative to control rats injected with saline. Labyrinthectomized rats drinking saccharin followed by ethanol injections showed a strong CTA (p < 0.01) if conditioning occurred 29-30 d post-labyrinthectomy. However, CTA's were not apparent in labyrinthectomized rats conditioned with ethanol 19 d post-labyrinthectomy. Thus, ethanol-induced CTA formation varied across the post-labyrinthectomy time period.