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Small Animal Behavior Core Laboratory
Services
Conditioned Taste Aversion
Description:
In the conditioned taste
aversion test, rats are given two water bottles from which to drink. One is
filled with plain water and the other is filled with water to which a small
amount of saccharin or sucrose has been added. After a conditioning period,
the rats are injected with either a test drug or a saline solution. The
rats are returned to their cages and observed to determine whether they
avoid the water bottle filled with sweet-tasting water, which would suggest
a learned aversion to the solution, i.e., they associated the sweet-tasting
water with a negative reaction (e.g., gastrointestinal malaise) that was
actually caused by the injected drug.
Purpose:
Conditioned taste
aversion is a useful test for determining whether a drug causes
gastrointestinal side effects
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