Conditioned Taste Aversion

Description

In the conditioned taste aversion test, rats are initially given one bottle filled with plain water from which to drink. Later, a second bottle filled with a novel sweet tasting solution is added. After a conditioning period with both bottles, the rats are injected with either a test drug or a saline solution. The rats are returned to their cages and observed to determine whether they avoid the water bottle filled with the sweet-tasting solution, which would suggest a learned aversion to the solution, i.e., they associated the sweet-tasting water with a negative reaction (e.g., gastrointestinal malaise) that was actually caused by the injected drug.

Purpose

Conditioned taste aversion is a useful test for determining whether a drug causes gastrointestinal side effects.