Gustatory stimulus control and reversal learning in rats

Behavioral indices of taste discrimination have been used to study gustatory physiology and psychophysics though they are often biased by taste and position preferences and offer limited stimulus control. In the present experiment five rats were trained to discriminate distilled water from 0.9% NaCl using a discretetrials go-no go procedure. When two rats were further trained on a series of 0.1% saccharin/NaCl discrimination reversals, correct responding occurred more rapidly following saccharin presentations independent of its stimulus property (S^D or S^Δ). The results are discussed in the context of experimental methods and the usefulness of the present technique for studies of gustatory physiology.