Lithium chloride and avoidance of novel places

Rats were exposed to a distinctive chamber (chamber A, part of a two-chamber apparatus), which was novel for half of the rats but familiar for the other half. Each rat was subsequently injected with lithium chloride or saline. In a test trial conducted 24 hr later, all rats were given a choice between chamber A and a second chamber (B), which was novel for all rats. The main result was that the group made familiar with chamber A and then given lithium showed a significant preference for that side or an avoidance of the novel side, a "spatial neophobia." A second experiment confirmed the spatial neophobia effect and demonstrated that it was not dependent on the particular conditioning procedure used in the first experiment. The spatial neophobia effect was related to similar effects in the taste aversion literature, and to the results of research on lithium-induced decreases in exploratory behavior.