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Toxin-Induced Gustatory Conditioning In Rats: Examining The Effects Of Low Dose Toxins In Food On Rat Feeding Behaviour And Avoidance Conditioning, Amber N. Good

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Foraging animals must learn which foods in their environment will maximize their nutritional needs but minimize the amount of ingested toxins. These animals rely on the integration of sensory and gustatory information and post-ingestive feedback from the foods they consume. Gustatory conditioning can be studied by using the conditioned taste avoidance paradigm and the toxin LiCl. This thesis first examined the dose related effects of low levels of LiCl on the ingestion of different palatable sucrose and salt solutions. The present findings support the hypothesis that rats use a behavioural tolerance mechanism to regulate their intake of foods containing low …