Total avoidance of saccharin consumption by rats after repeatedly paired injections of ethanol or LiCl.

Rats injected with ethanol or LiCl following consumption of novel saccharin solution drank less saccharin than non-poisoned controls on a subsequent exposure with degree of aversion positively related to dose of ethanol (2--5 g/kg). While a single pairing of saccharin with ethanol or LiCl resulted in partial avoidance of saccharin solution, repeated conditioning trials led to total avoidance of saccharin consumption by animals injected with the higher doses of ethanol or with LiCl. These results, characteristic of emetic-induced aversions, support the explanation of the limited consumption of ethanol by rats under ad lib, free-choice conditions as a result of acquired aversion to the oronasal sensory stimuli of ethanol after association with pharmacologically aversive aftereffects of consumed ethanol.