LiCl aversive conditioning has transitory effects on pheromonal responsiveness in male house mice (Mus domesticus).

Appetitive and aversive experiences influence whether odors elicit precopulatory behavior from male rodents. A role for aversive experience in odor-elicited reproductive behaviors had been demonstrated for hamsters and rats, but similar work on house mice had not been performed. Four experiments examined whether lithium chloride (LiCl) aversive conditioning would alter two precopulatory behaviors (ultrasonic vocalizations and olfactory preference) that male house mice normally exhibit to female urine. Lithium chloride was used to aversively condition male house mice to either female urine odor, female urine in drinking water, the female herself, or a novel odor. Independent tests of taste aversion establishment were also conducted. In these experiments, LiCl aversive conditioning produced robust taste aversions to water adulterated with either female urine or a novel odorant/tastant (isoamylacetate), but only transitory decrements in odor-elicited, male-typical precopulatory behaviors. We conclude that aversive conditioning is unlikely to be a significant factor affecting male mouse precopulatory behavior.