Interactions with conspecific attenuate conditioned taste aversions in mice.

Social animals both increase and decrease their stress levels by interacting with conspecifics. The present study examines the effect of interaction with a conspecific on conditioned taste aversion in 32 male mice. Subjects were injected with lithium chloride immediately after drinking saccharin solution for 30 min. They were then exposed to a male conspecific for 3h following the poisoning. In the subsequent three consecutive days of two-bottle tests involving a choice between saccharin solution and water, they showed attenuated conditioned taste aversion compared with controls exposed to no conspecific after poisoning. These results confirm social interaction with a conspecific reduces conditioned taste aversion in mice. The implications of these findings are discussed with regard to social buffering effect and stress-induced analgesia.