Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

How to Create Conditioned Taste Aversion for Grazing Ground Covers in Woody Crops with Small Ruminants
Published on: April 30, 2016
Food aversion learning based on voluntary running in non-deprived rats: a technique for establishing aversive
1Department of Psychological Science, Kwansei Gakuin University, 1-1-155 Uegahara, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 662-8501, Japan.
Abstract:
This article presents an experimental preparation for establishing conditioned food aversion (CFA) by voluntary wheel running in rats with laboratory chow and water freely available. In Experiment 1, unfamiliar food (raisins) was avoided by rats when they first encountered it. This neophobic food avoidance was habituated by repeated tests; the rats gradually increased their raisin consumption. However, the consumption remained suppressed in rats that accessed the raisins after wheel running. This finding implies that running yielded CFA, which suppressed consumption of the unfamiliar food rather than increasing it. Because running generated kaolin clay ingestion, which is a behavioral marker of nausea, it is suggested that the running-based CFA was mediated by weak gastrointestinal discomfort. Experiment 2 supported the claim that the suppressed consumption is due to running-based CFA by showing the specificity of food suppression. Demonstration of CFA based on voluntary activity in non-deprived rats will contribute to basic research on learning and memory as an alternative technique for studying aversive conditioning with minimized discomfort in animals.
Related Concept Videos
Conditioned Taste Aversion
A notable characteristic of conditioned taste aversion is that it often requires only a single...
Wald-Wolfowitz Runs Test II
For binary data, runs are identified using symbols such as + and −, or equivalently, 1s and 0s. In...
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Wald-Wolfowitz Runs Test I
The test works...
Regulation of Food Intake
Avoidance Learning and Learned Helplessness
Avoidance learning occurs when an organism learns that a specific behavior can prevent an unpleasant outcome. For example, a student who receives a bad grade may start studying harder to avoid future poor grades. This behavior persists even when the negative outcome is no longer present. Avoidance learning is powerful because it maintains behavior in the absence of the...

