Taste aversion proneness: A modulator of conditioned consummatory aversions in rats

Sprague-Dawley-derived rats were sequentially conditioned to avoid both anise- and saccharin-flavored solutions with counterbalanced orders of flavor exposures prior to cyclophosphamide-induced illness. The amounts of saccharin and anise solutions consumed during separate postconditioning single-bottle tests were correlated to determine if aversion strength was consistent across flavors. The saccharin-anise sequence revealed a positive and significant correlation, supporting the hypothesis that conditioned flavor aversions are modulated by some intrasubject factor or factors, a tendency designated as taste aversion proneness. However, a correlational coefficient of marginal significance was obtained from the anise-saccharin sequence, leaving unanswered questions concerning the salience and generality of taste aversion proneness. Despite this limitation, taste aversion proneness is viewed as having important applied implications for aversion therapy approaches to the treatment of human alcoholism.