Choline dietary supplementation improves LiCl-induced context aversion retention in adult rats

Abstract Previous studies have demonstrated that choline is an essential nutrient during prenatal and early postnatal developmental periods. Thus, the availability of choline during these periods produces some beneficial effects on hippocampal-dependent learning and memory in rats. However, research on the effect of adult choline supplementation on learning and memory abilities is scarce. In the present study, 3–4 month-old male Wistar rats receiving a 7-week choline-supplemented diet (4.5 fold that of a standard diet) and control rats receiving a standard diet were trained in a LiCl-induced contextual aversion task. Short and long-term context aversion retention was assessed by recording the consumption of a flavoured solution in the aversive and safe contexts over two subsequent tests. Statistical analysis showed that the supplemented group exhibited greater intake suppression in the aversive context than in the safe context when two retention tests were applied 3 and 15 days after conditioning. These results suggest that increasing dietary choline availability during adulthood may favour the retention of a context aversion.