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Domperidone interferes with conditioned disgust reactions but not taste avoidance evoked by a LiCl‐paired taste in infant rats
Author(s) -
Pautassi Ricardo Marcos,
Arias Carlos,
Molina Juan Carlos,
Spear Norman
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
developmental psychobiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.055
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1098-2302
pISSN - 0012-1630
DOI - 10.1002/dev.20288
Subject(s) - saccharin , taste aversion , disgust , taste , psychology , palatability , area postrema , lithium chloride , chemistry , neophobia , medicine , endocrinology , neuroscience , central nervous system , developmental psychology , anger , food science , organic chemistry , psychiatry
Rats exhibit taste avoidance and conditioned disgust reactions when stimulated with a tastant paired with lithium chloride (LiCl). Lithium‐mediated activation of chemoreceptor nuclei at the brainstem appears to determine the acquisition of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in adult rodents. Domperidone (DOM), an anti‐emetic drug that does not cross the blood–brain barrier, was employed to analyze mechanisms underlying LiCl‐mediated CTA in infant rats. On postnatal day 13 animals were given DOM followed by a pairing between intraoral saccharin and LiCl. Saccharin consumption at testing was lower in lithium‐treated pups than in controls. DOM did not interfere with this LiCl‐mediated taste avoidance but significantly decreased LiCl‐mediated disgust reactions (head‐shaking and wall climbing). Activation of the emetic system of the brainstem does not seem necessary for the acquisition of LiCl‐mediated conditioned taste avoidance. Yet, these centers seem to be involved in the palatability shift resulting from taste‐LiCl pairings. These results indicate an early dissociation between conditioned disgust reactions and conditioned taste avoidance. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 50: 343–352, 2008.