Preferencia condicionada por el alcohol por su asociación con el líquido amniótico en crías de rata.

ARIAS, C; CHOTRO, M.G

Madrid - Espana

Congreso; Congreso de la Sociedad Española de Psicología Comparada.; 2005

Sociedad Española de Psicología Comparada.

The amniotic fluid is a biological fluid that plays a relevant role in the transmission of chemosensory experiences to the fetus. Studies in humans and animals indicate that exposure to several flavors in the amniotic fluid during the last gestational period may induce preferences for those flavors. However, it has not been studied yet whether these preferences are associative or not. Taking into account that during the last prenatal period the amniotic fluid contains substances that can activate the opioid system, and that this system plays a critical role in the acquisition of olfactory preferences early in life, it has been hypothesized that the amniotic fluid could have acquired appetitive unconditioned properties during this period. This has been tested in an experiment in which preweanling rats were exposed to ethanol odor (CS) paired or unpaired with the intraoral infusion of amniotic fluid (US) collected on gestational day 20. Pairing of these two stimuli induced an enhanced palatability of ethanol?s flavor and also an increased intake of the drug. These results support the idea that the amniotic fluid acquires unconditioned properties during the last days of gestation.