Elsevier

Physiology & Behavior

Volume 48, Issue 5, November 1990, Pages 617-623
Physiology & Behavior

Article
Taste detection and discrimination performance of rats following selective desalivation

https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(90)90200-NGet rights and content

Abstract

Taste sensitivity and responsivity, two-tastant and taste-mixture discrimination performance, and taste preferences were examined prior to and after the selective desalivation of 48 male Long-Evans rats. Altered preference behavior was observed in rats after removal of the major salivary glands, as well as after removal of only the submandibular-sublingual complexes. In 9 of 12 desalivated rats, decreased sensitivity and increased responsivity to near-threshold sodium chloride solutions were observed, although these changes were less than one-half an order of magnitude. No between-group differences in performance on two-tastant and taste-mixuture discrimination tasks were observed. These results suggest that decrements in absolute sensitivity do not result in concomitant deficits in the discrimination of taste qualities.

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