Preoperative latent place learning preserves salt appetite following damage to the central gustatory system.

Rats given the experience of tasting saline before receiving lesions in the region of the thalamic taste relay are protected from the usual lesion-induced deficits in salt appetite. In this study, the location of the saline during postoperative testing was varied from the location during preoperative training for some rats, and it was kept the same for others. A clear protective effect was evident when the preoperative and postoperative location was the same but not when it was different. This protective effect may be due to place learning, because it is known that rats can remember tasting saline in a particular place and then return there when in a state of sodium need.