Preferences for tastes paired with recovery from thiamine deficiency in rats: Appetitive conditioning or learned safety?

Abstract

Conducted a study of 80 male Sprague-Dawley rats to investigate earlier findings that rats develop learned preferences for flavors paired with recovery from vitamin deficiencies. Results show that thiamine deficient Ss preferred flavors paired with recovery from deficiency to other familiar flavors, suggesting that part of the preference for flavors paired with recovery was the result of appetitive conditioning. Data are discussed in relation to "learned safety," specific hungers, illness-induced neophobia, and other phenomena in the taste-aversion literature. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)