Comparing immune activation (lipopolysaccharide) and toxin (lithium chloride)-induced gustatory conditioning: lipopolysaccharide produces conditioned taste avoidance but not aversion

Feeding and drinking typically involve both appetitive and consummatory behaviors. Appetitive behaviors include those behaviors produced by an animal prior to the actual consumption, such as approach movements, whereas consummatory behaviors (such as licking and chewing) are involved in the actual consumption of food. The present research compared the gustatory conditioning effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and lithium chloride (LiCl) in two different paradigms, conditioned taste avoidance and conditioned taste aversion which differentially affect the appetitive and consummatory components of feeding. Male rats were implanted with intraoral cannulae and habituated to a water deprivation schedule and afterwards received two conditioning days (Days 1 and 4). Each conditioning day consisted of 1 h access to a novel sucrose solution (0.3 M) immediately followed by a systemic injection of LPS (200 microg/kg), LiCl (0.15 M, 3 meq) or NaCl vehicle. Conditioned taste aversion was assessed using the taste reactivity test on Day 7, where orofacial and somatic responses were videotaped and analyzed during 3 brief (1 min) exposures to the sucrose solution. Conditioned taste avoidance was assessed on Days 8 and 9 using a two-bottle preference test (sucrose versus water). Animals conditioned with LiCl displayed typical aversive-like responses in the taste reactivity paradigm evidenced by significant reductions in positive ingestive responses (P<0.05) and an increase in active aversive responses (P<0.05) relative to controls. Furthermore, LiCl treatment resulted in conditioned avoidance of sucrose in the two-bottle preference test characterized by a decreased sucrose preference (P<0.05). Conditioning with LPS produced a reduced sucrose preference (P<0.05) relative to controls, comparable to the avoidance seen in LiCl-treated rats. In contrast, conditioning with LPS resulted in similar positive ingestive responses to intraorally infused sucrose as seen in controls. The present results demonstrate that LPS treatment produces conditioned avoidance but not aversion and suggest that LPS can selectively condition the appetitive aspects of feeding whereas the consummatory behaviors remain unaffected.     

Acute corticosterone increases conditioned spontaneous orofacial behaviors but fails to influence dose related LiCl-induced conditioned "gaping" responses in a rodent model of anticipatory nausea

Acute administration of corticosterone has been shown to facilitate learning in a number of associative paradigms, including LiCl-induced conditioned taste aversion learning. The present study examined the effects of acute corticosterone on LiCl-induced conditioned anticipatory nausea in male rats. Anticipatory nausea is produced by pairing a novel distinctive context with the nausea-inducing effects of a toxin, such as LiCl. Following a number of pairings of the context with the effects of the toxin, rats will display a distinctive conditioned "gaping" response when placed into the context in a drug free state. Adult male Long-Evans rats were injected (intraperitoneal, ip) with a LiCl solution (32, 64, or 128 mg/kg, 0.15M) or saline (NaCl, 0.15 M) followed 10 min later by either corticosterone (5 mg/kg) or β-cyclodextrin vehicle (45%) prior to placement in a distinctive context on four conditioning days (72 h apart) for 30 min. On the conditioning test day rats were placed in the distinctive context in a drug-free state and orofacial and somatic responses were video-recorded for 10 min. Gaping responses increased with increasing doses of LiCl in a linear fashion (P<0.01) but were not significantly influenced by the corticosterone treatment. In contrast, significant increases in the frequency of conditioned spontaneous orofacial behaviors on the drug free test day were produced by the corticosterone treatment during the acquisition phase, whereas LiCl treatment during acquisition had no significant effect on these behaviors. Thus, acute corticosterone did not alter the strength of conditioning of anticipatory nausea in rats.     

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) blocks the acquisition of LiCl-induced gaping in a rodent model of anticipatory nausea

The effects of systemic treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on conditioned gaping in a rodent model of anticipatory nausea were examined. Stimulation of the immune system has been found to enhance, impair, or have no effect on various learning and memory tasks. The development of anticipatory nausea is formed through a classically conditioned response to a context that has been paired previously with toxin-induced nausea and/or vomiting. Rats display a distinctive conditioned gaping response when injected with a nausea-inducing drug such as LiCl. In the present study, male Long-Evans rats were injected intraperitoneally with LPS (200 μg/kg) or saline (NaCl) followed 90 min later by an injection of the toxin LiCl or saline before being placed in a distinctive context on four conditioning days (72 h apart). On the condition test day, rats (n = 6/group) were placed in the distinctive context in a drug-free state and behavioral responses were videotaped. Rats given LPS followed by LiCl were found to have significantly fewer gaping responses when compared to rats given NaCl followed by LiCl. All groups were also found to have similar levels of spontaneous ingestive behaviors suggesting that the decrease in gaping was not due to motor impairment. The present results suggest that activation of the immune system with LPS administration significantly impairs the acquisition of anticipatory nausea.     

Feasibility of high-resolution, intravascular ultrasonic imaging catheters

A small-aperture, prototype ultrasonic imaging system, typical of the size necessary to be embedded in a catheter, was developed to evaluate the feasibility of intravascular ultrasonic imaging catheters (UICs). The evaluation included in vitro imaging of postmortem samples of human femoral and iliac arteries with the UIC prototype and a high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) proton imager. Excellent correlations between results from the UIC images, MR images, and tissue specimens were demonstrated. Although the current prototype is too large to be useful in examination of smaller vessels such as coronary arteries, the signal-to-noise ratio and resolution obtained indicate that imaging with intravascular UICs is feasible and may have significant diagnostic value.