Conditioned flavor aversions for assessing precipitated morphine abstinence in rats

Rats receiving twice-daily morphine injections acquired aversions to a saccharin solution which had been presented for 1 hr immediately prior to injections of naloxone. The degree of aversion was related to the maintenance dosage of morphine. Rats maintained on a regimen of daily saline injections did not show significant aversion to saccharin paired with naloxone, even at doses as high as 40 mg/kg. The sensitivity of the technique was such that significant aversions could be demonstrated in rats receiving doses of morphine as low as 1 mg/kg twice daily. It is suggested that conditioned flavor aversions provide a useful method for assessing the aversive quality of abstinence precipitated from low doses of morphine.