Dobek Christine, Heth C Donald, Pierce W David
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Behav Processes. 2012 Jan;89(1):36-8. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.10.009. Epub 2011 Oct 30.
We replicated the finding of bivalent conditioning of tastes by wheel running by Hughes and Boakes (2008), but without pre-exposure to the wheel. Rats received six days of conditioning with a flavoured solution presented for 10 min before a 40-min placement in a running wheel and another flavoured solution presented for 10 min after. A highly palatable liquid meal replacement was used as a vehicle for the flavours to encourage consumption, allowing us to equate before and after presentation intervals. Relative to a third flavour, we found that the taste preceding wheel running was consumed less, and the taste that followed wheel running was consumed more. Novel wheel running can therefore condition both taste avoidance and taste preference.
