Conditioned Aversion to Saccharin Resulting from Exposure to Gamma Radiation
GARCIA J, KIMELDORF DJ, KOELLING RA
It was previously observed (I) that the vater and food consumption of rats was depressed during exposure to a relatively low dose of low-intensity gamma radiation. 'The severity of this depressian increased with successive ex- posures to radiation, although consump- tion between exposures was similar to or exceeded that of nonirradiated controls. It was suggested that the progressive change in consurnrnatory behavior during repetitive exposure may be, in part, a conditioned response in whch the avoidance of water and food is strength- ened by learning through repeated coupling with the radiation situation.
A clearer demonstration of the learn- ing phenomenon would be provided if the conditioned avoidance of water or food could be elicited in the absence of radia- tion exposure. This report (2) describes the results of an experiment designed to prolide such a tcst. The water available during irradiation was made discrimina- ti~e to the animal by the addition of saccharin. Subsequently, the saccharin flavor was employed as a taste stimulus in a postirradiation test for a conditioned avcrsion to the discriminative fluid. The animals were Sprague-Dawley stock bred at this laboratory. Eaeh ani- mal was maintained, in an individual cage. Two plastic 100-ml drinking Bottle? with glass nipples wcre attached ro each cage except during specified periods. The difference imweight of each drinking bottle and of its contents before and after a given test period was used( as the estimatc of fluid consumption.
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