Sexually dimorphic extinction of a conditioned taste aversion in rats

Chambers, Kathleen C.; Sengstake, Cord B.

doi:10.3758/bf03214032

Cited by 64 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Female rats show superior passive avoidance performance--e.g, suppression ratio---when ongoing operant behavior is suppressed by the presence of aversion stimulation [ 10,18]. Conversely, female rats display inferior passive avoidance behavior when the retention of the response is not measured immediately after the aversive experience [5,6,9,17]. The present observations agree with these studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance behavior of rats: Relation to body weight, age, shock intensity and retention interval

Drago

Bohus

Scapagnini

et al. 1980

Physiology & Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

. Sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance behavior of rats: Relation to body weight, age, shock intensity and retention interval. PHYSIOL. BEHAV. 24(6) [1161][1162][1163][1164] 1980.-Female rats were inferior to age-and weight-matched males in the retention of a step-through type passive avoidance response 24 and 48 hr after the learning. This sex difference could be observed at different intensities of foot shock which was used as aversive stimulus during the single learning trial. Additionally, unlike in males, retention of the passive avoidance response in the females was not the function of shock intensity. Male and female rats, however, showed similar passive avoidance if tested immediately after the learning trial. The results suggest the existence of sexual dimorphism in memory processes. Passive avoidanceSexual dimorphism Body weight Age Shock intensity Retention interval SEXUAL dimorphism in sexually unrelated behaviors has been often observed in rodents. In active avoidance situatoins, female rats acquire the response quicker and are more resistant to extinction than males [3,4,7,9,11,14]. In contrast, passive avoidance behavior of female rats is inferior to that of males [5,9,17]. Passive avoidance retention of male rats is a function of shock intensity, shock duration and the learning-retention interval [1]. Reactivity to electric foot shock also is related to the sex [3,8,12,15], body weight and age [16]. Since differences in reactivity to foot shock, which is used as aversive stimulus at the learning, may influence later retention of a passive avoidance response, the present experiments were designed to investigate sexual dimorphism in the retention of a passive avoidance response in relation to body weight, age, shock intensity and learning-retention interval. METHOD AnimalsA total of 54 female and 78 male SPF Wistar rats (Cpb. TNO, Zeist, The Netherlands) were used. The rats were housed in groups of 3 during the experiments and were supplied with ad lib standard laboratory food and water. The light was on between 5:00 a.m. and 19:00 p.m. and the behavioral tests occurred between 14:00 and 18:00 p.m. ApparatusPassive avoidance behavior was studied in a step-through type apparatus as described by Ader et al. [1]. Briefly, a mesh-covered elevated runway was attached to the front centre of a large compartment measuring 50x50x50 cm. It was constructed of black Plexiglas and equipped with grid floor. The opening between the runway and the large compartment was separated by a guillotine door. A 25 W lamp illuminated the runway and the large compartment remained dark. The experiments were performed in a soundattenuated chamber which was dark except for the illumination of the runway. ProcedureOn Day 1 the rats were adapted to the large dark compartment for 2 min with the guillotine door closed. This was immediately followed by a trial in which the rat was placed on the runway facing away from the dark compartment and allowed to enter the dark. Three more approach trials were given on Day 2 with an inter...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance behavior of rats: Relation to body weight, age, shock intensity and retention interval

Drago

Bohus

Scapagnini

et al. 1980

Physiology & Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The comparatively rapid extinction of female as compared with male R. r. mindanensis confirms the previously reported sex differences in extinction for R. norvegicus (Chambers & Sengstake, 1976;Sengstake, Chambers, & Thrower, 1978). The sex difference was most apparent with RS and to a lesser degree with Cycle, Toxicity data for RS tested with Norway and Bandicota rats indicate females to be 1.5 to 5 times more sensitive than males (Brooks & Htun, 1980).…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 75%

Conditioned taste aversion in Philippine rice rats (R. r. mindanensis): Comparisons among drugs, dosages, modes of administration, and sexes

Shumake

Sterner

Gaddis

et al. 1982

Animal Learning & Behavior

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The effects of select drugs, dosages, and modes of administration upon learned taste aversions were compared among groups of wild-caught male and female Philippine rice rats (R. r.mindanensisi. Experiment 1 compared two-choice saccharin aversions for 28 days among groups intubated with copper sulfate, cyclophosphamide, lithium chloride, red squill, sodium chloride (control), or deionized water (control). Main results were that 375 mglkg lithium chloride produced the greatest sustained aversions, whereas 198 mg/kg cyclophosphamide and 210 mglkg red squill produced moderate aversions, with males showing more resistance to extinction than females. Experiment 2 compared saccharin aversion among matched groups of male and female rats that received low (36 mg/kg], moderate (105 mg/kg), or high (368 mglkg) dosages of lithium by gavage, ip injection, or ingestion. Sex differences in rates of extinction were found for the ingestion and injection-dosed rats, but no sex difference was again found for rats dosed by gavage. A significant mode X day interaction indicated that extinction progressed more rapidly for rats dosed by gavage. For all modes of administration, high dosages yielded intense 28·day aversion, moderate dosages produced intermediate 3·5 day aversion, and low dosages caused no aversion.

show abstract

“…These results were related to previous work showing that the rate of extinction of a conditioned taste aversion is dependent on levels of testosterone. Chambers and Sengstake (1976) have found that males extinguish a conditioned taste aversion more slowly than females. This sexual dimorphism has been shown to be concurrently dependent on testosterone (Chambers, 1976).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential effects of fluid deprivation on the acquisition and extinction phases of a conditioned taste aversion

Sengstake

Chambers

1979

Bull. Psychon. Soc.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Previous work has shown that the rate of extinction of a conditioned taste aversion by a male (but not a female) rat is affected by the state of fluid deprivation. In the present study. adult male rats were either fluid deprived or nondeprived during acquisition of the conditioned taste aversion and then either fluid deprived or nondeprived during its extinction. The males that were fluid deprived during extinction showed a faster. female-like rate of extinction regardless of the deprivation state during acquisition. These results were related to previous work showing that the rate of extinction of a conditioned taste aversion is dependent on levels of testosterone.Chambers and Sengstake (1976) have found that males extinguish a conditioned taste aversion more slowly than females. This sexual dimorphism has been shown to be concurrently dependent on testosterone (Chambers, 1976). When males are castrated, they exhibit a fast, female-like rate of extinction. When females and castrated males are given testosterone supplements, they exhibit a slow, male-like rate of extinction. Thus, testosterone increases the length of time the animal takes to extinguish the aversion. If testosterone is not present, the expression of the slower rate of extinction is blocked and the males act like females.The sexual dimorphism is also blocked when rats are fluid deprived. The rate of extinction seen in females is unaffected by fluid deprivation, but the males, which normally show the slower rate of extinction, will change to the faster, female-like rate if they are fluid deprived. This increased rate of extinction in the deprived male is not due to forced drinking of the conditioned substance , since water was also available during behavioral testing (Sengstake, Chambers, & Thrower, 1978).The behavioral similarity between castrated males and fluid-deprived males earlier led us to hypothesize that the effects of fluid deprivation on the rate of extinction occur through a testosterone-dependent mechanism, a hypothesis that was supported by the demonstration that injections of testosterone propionate blocked the effects of fluid deprivation on the rate of extinction in the male rat (Sengstake et aI., 1978).A change in the rate of extinction can be a function of events occurring during the acquisition of the aversion or events occurring during the extinction of the aversion.We would like to express our thanks to Diana Hainline for her technical assistance during the collection of these data. Requests for reprints may be addressed to the authors at Department of Psychology. Portland State University, P.O. Box 751, Portland, Oregon 97207 .Copyright 1979 Psychonomic Society, Inc. 85Chambers and Sengstake (1979) have shown that testosterone slows the rate of extinction by altering the extinction (but not the acquisition) process in some unspecified way. The slower rate of extinction of the conditioned taste aversion; the presence , or absence, of testosterone during the acquisition of the aversion has no effect on the rate of its extinctio...

show abstract

Sexually dimorphic extinction of a conditioned taste aversion in rats

Cited by 64 publications

References 22 publications

Sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance behavior of rats: Relation to body weight, age, shock intensity and retention interval

Sexual dimorphism in passive avoidance behavior of rats: Relation to body weight, age, shock intensity and retention interval

Conditioned taste aversion in Philippine rice rats (R. r. mindanensis): Comparisons among drugs, dosages, modes of administration, and sexes

Differential effects of fluid deprivation on the acquisition and extinction phases of a conditioned taste aversion

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About