Lithium chloride-induced taste aversion in C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice

Male C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice (Mus musculus) were tested in a one-bottle conditioned taste aversion paradigm with 15% sucrose as the conditioned stimulus and lithium chloride (LiCl) as the unconditioned stimulus. The results of a dose-response experiment yielded evidence that higher doses of LiCl than used in past studies were required to produce profound aversions in these mice, with a 6.0 mEq/kg dose appearing as optimal. When the mice were conditioned with the 6.0 mEq/kg dose in one-bottle tests, there was little evidence of a strain difference in the acquisition of a taste aversion. During extinction trials, however, DBA/2J mice exhibited stronger resistance to extinction than did C57BL/6J mice. Additional analyses of fluid consumption suggested that strain differences in drinking behavior were evident in the paradigm and that these must be considered in interpreting the strain differences observed in conditioned taste aversion.