The effect of nonreinforced stimulus exposure on the strength of a conditioned taste aversion as a function of retention interval: Do latent inhibition and extinction involve a shared process?

Two experiments examined the effects of nonreinforced flavor exposure on the strength of a conditioned taste aversion. Rats were conditioned by pairing maple flavor with LiC1. Prior to or subsequent to this pairing, some animals received nonreinforced exposure to either maple or saccharin. In separate subjects, preference for maple was tested 1 or 21 days after the last training episode. In the first experiment, the nonreinforced stimulus exposure occurred before conditioning (latent inhibition, or LI, procedure); in the second experiment, the nonreinforced exposure occurred after conditioning (extinction, or EXT, training). In both experiments, nonreinforced exposure to maple or saccharin reduced the magnitude of a conditioned maple aversion when testing occurred soon after conditioning. When testing was delayed, however, the attenuation due to nonreinforced saccharin exposure dissipated, both with the LI procedure and with EXT. In contrast, the nonreinforced exposure to maple was found to attenuate conditioned reactions at both short and long retention intervals. The release from generalized LI and spontaneous recovery following generalized EXT training are discussed in terms of retrieval processing. The possibility that the same mechanism may underlie LI and EXT is considered.