Pairing a Flavor with Activity in a Flat, Circular Alley Induces Conditioned Taste Aversion

Wheel running has been shown to induce conditioned taste aversion (CTA). The present experiments tested whether activity in a flat, circular alley also induces CTA. In each of two experiments, one group of rats received paired exposures to one flavored solution and unpaired exposures to a second flavored solution and vice versa for a second group. During a paired exposure, the rats were given access to a flavored solution for 10 min and then confined in an alley for 30 min. During an unpaired exposure, after the drinking period ended, the rats either remained in their home cages (Experiment 1) or were confined in small, novel chambers for 30 min to control for handling and mere exposure to a novel environment (Experiment 2). After these training trials, in both experiments, the rats were given a 5-h preference test with the two solutions. Although there was no evidence of CTA during training in either experiment, CTA was evident in the two-bottle preference test in both.