Retention of rotationally induced taste aversions

Abstract

Retention interval effects are seen in single-element taste-aversion learning when taste aversions are significantly weaker if testing occurs 1 day after conditioning compared to tests conducted 3 or more days after conditioning. Since all previous demonstrations of this phenomenon have occurred following conditioning with the drug lithium chloride (LiCl), it was necessary to determine if the increased drinking at the 1-day interval was due to the aftereffects of LiCl. The present experiment explored the presence of retention interval differences following the use of a nonpharmacological unconditioned stimulus (US), rotational stimulation. Following a saccharin-rotation pairing, a saccharin aversion was seen at a 5-day testing interval, and this aversion was significantly stronger than the aversion observed at a 1-day test. Thus, these results are clear in showing that the retention interval effect occurs following conditioning with a nonpharmacological US, and this outcome allows for the refutation of an aftereffects of LiCl hypothesis.