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Attempts to produce taste‐aversion learning in rats exposed to 60‐Hz electric fields
Author(s) -
Creim J. A.,
Lovely R. H.,
Kaune W. T.,
Phillips R. D.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
bioelectromagnetics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.435
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1521-186X
pISSN - 0197-8462
DOI - 10.1002/bem.2250050214
Subject(s) - saccharin , conditioning , taste aversion , taste , preference test , electric field , zoology , toxicology , chemistry , psychology , preference , food science , endocrinology , medicine , physics , biology , mathematics , statistics , quantum mechanics
A measure of taste‐aversion (TA) learning was used in three experiments to 1) determine whether exposure to intense 60‐Hz electric fields can produce TA learning in male Sprague‐Dawley rats, and 2) establish a dose‐response function for the behavior in question. In Experiment 1, four groups of eight rats each were distributed into one of two exposures (69 ± 5 kV/m or 133 ± 10 kV/m) or into one of two sham‐exposure groups. Conditioning trials paired 0.1% sodium saccharin in water with 3 h of exposure to a 60‐Hz electric field. Following five conditioning trials, a 20‐min, two‐bottle preference test between water and saccharin‐flavored water failed to reveal TA conditioning in exposed groups. In Experiment 2, four groups of eight rats each (34 ± 2 kV/m or 133 ± 10 kV/m and two sham‐exposed groups) were treated as before. Electric‐field exposure had no effect on TA learning. Experiment 3 tested for a possible synergy between a minimal dose (for TA learning) of cyclophosphamide (6 mg/kg) and 5 h of exposure to 133 ± 10 kV/m electric fields in a dark environment under conditions otherwise similar to those of Experiments 1 and 2. The results indicated no TA learning as reflected in the relative consumption of saccharin.