Salivary proteins rescue within-session suppression and conditioned avoidance in response to an intragastric quinine...

A subset of salivary proteins (SPs) upregulates in response to a quinine-containing diet. The presence of these SPs then results in decreased bitter taste responding and taste nerve signaling. Bitter taste receptors in the oral cavity are also found in the stomach and intestines and contribute to behaviors that are influenced by post-oral signaling. It has been previously demonstrated that after several pairings of post-orally infused bitter stimuli and a neutral flavor, animals learn to avoid the flavor that was paired with gastric bitter, this is referred to as conditioned avoidance. Furthermore, animals will decrease licking of a neutral solution within a test session, when licking is paired with an intragastric bitter infusion; this has been described as within-session suppression. We used these paradigms to test the role of SPs in behaviors influenced by post-oral signaling. In both paradigms, the animal is given a test solution directly into the stomach (with or without quinine, and with or without SPs), and the infusions are self-administered by licking to a neutral solution (Kool-Aid). Quinine successfully conditioned a flavor avoidance, but, in a separate trial, we were unable to detect conditioning in the presence of SPs from donor animals. Likewise, quinine was able to suppress licking within the conditioned suppression paradigm, but the effect of the bitter was blocked in the presence of saliva containing SPs. Together, these data suggest that behaviors driven by post-oral signaling can be altered by SPs.