Exposure to the maternal odor enhances intake of a taste that mimicks the sensory attributes of ethanol

LOARTE NA; SUAREZ, A; KAMENETZKY GISELLE; IFRAN, MARÍA CELESTE; PAUTASSI R.M.

LEARNING & BEHAVIOR

PSYCHONOMIC SOC INC

Año: 2019

1543-4494

Early exposure to ethanol increases subsequent acceptance of this drug. Little attention, however, has been devoted to the interaction of the taste of the drug with other, familiar or non-familiar, odors contingent with ethanol access, particularly early in ontogeny. This study assessed the influence of exposure to maternal odor on intake and grasp responses to an artificial nipple providing a solution (a sucrose-quinine mix) that emulates the taste of alcohol, in 4-day old rat pups. The results showed that the mother?s odor enhanced intake from and seeking responses to an artificial nipple that provided the solution that mimicked the taste of alcohol (Experiment 1). This pattern of results was not evoked by the odor of an unrelated dam (Experiment 2), nor was observed when the nipple delivered water. The main new finding of the present study is that 4-day old rats tested in the presence of the mother (and hence exposed to its odor cues) exhibited enhanced seeking and intake of a solution that mimics the chemosensory properties of ethanol.