TITLE:
Conditioned Taste Aversion Diminishes Sugar Intake
AUTHORS:
Alma Gabriela Martínez Moreno, Antonio López-Espinoza, Imelda de León López, Laura Vanesa Solano Santos, Fernando Hernández- Leonardo
KEYWORDS:
Sugar, LiCl, Conditioned Taste Aversion, Rats
JOURNAL NAME:
Food and Nutrition Sciences,
Vol.5 No.11,
May
29,
2014
ABSTRACT:
Animals learn to
avoid particular food when some of its sensory properties are associated with
gastrointestinal discomfort. Twenty rats were exposed to free access to food
and a sugar solution for ten days in first phase. During second phase, experimental
group received a dose of LiCl. Control group received an injection without
LiCl. Both groups had free access to a sugar solution and food restriction for
three days. In the final phase, both groups returned to the conditions of first
phase. Results showed a significant decrease in sugar intake after aversive
conditioning regarding the intake registered in the initial phase in
experimental group. Control group did not show any differences in its sugar
intake before and after the experimental manipulation. The procedure carried
out is discussed as a means to decrease sugar intake.