Domperidone interferes with conditioned disgust reactions but not taste avoidance evoked by a LiCl-paired taste in infant rats.

PAUTASSI RM; ARIAS C; MOLINA J.C.,; SPEAR, N.E.

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOBIOLOGY

Wiley Interscience

Año: 2008 vol. 50 p. 343 - 352

0012-1630

<!-- /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; mso-layout-grid-align:none; punctuation-wrap:simple; text-autospace:none; font-size:12.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language:ES;} @page Section1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> Rats exhibit taste avoidance and conditioned disgust reactions when stimulated with a tastant paired with lithium chloride (LiCl). Lithium-mediated activation of chemoreceptor nuclei at the brainstem  appears to determine the acquisition of conditioned taste aversion (CTA) in adult rodents. Domperidone (DOM), an anti-emetic drug that does not cross the blood–brain barrier, was employed to analyze mechanisms underlying LiCl-mediated CTA in infant rats. On postnatal day 13 animals were given DOM followed by a pairing between intraoral saccharin and LiCl. Saccharin consumption at testing was lower in lithium-treated pups than in controls. DOM did not interfere with this LiCl-mediated taste avoidance but significantly decreased LiCl-mediated disgust reactions (head-shaking and wall climbing). Activation of the emetic system of the brainstem does not seem necessary for the acquisition of LiCl-mediated conditioned taste avoidance. Yet, these centers seem to be involved in the palatability shift resulting from taste-LiCl pairings. These results indicate an early dissociation between conditioned disgust reactions and conditioned taste avoidance.