Positive correlation between pre- and postconditioning saccharin intake in taste-aversion learning

Data from 36 groups of rats from a total of 12 taste-aversion (saccharin+lithium chloride) experiments were analyzed for (1) individual differences of absolute saccharin (sacc) intake on the first (conditioning) and second (test) presentations, and (2) the correlation between intakes on the two presentations. Large individual differences and strong positive correlations were found for sacc+LiCl, sacc+NaCl, sacc?LiCl unpaired, and “different context” conditions. In addition to raising doubts about the use of absolute saccharin intake as a measure of taste-aversion learning, these results support the view that an associative (taste-nausea) component is superimposed on a neophobic avoidance of the novel taste stimulus.