Off-vertical rotation produces conditioned taste aversion and suppressed drinking in mice

The effects of off-vertical rotation upon the intake of tap water immediately after rotation, and upon conditioned taste aversion, were assessed in mice with the tilt of the rotation axis varying from 5 to 20 degrees from the earth-vertical. Conditioned taste aversion occurred in all mice that were rotated, but the intake of tap water was suppressed only in mice that were rotated at 15 or 20 degrees of tilt. The greater suppression of tap water intake and the stronger conditioned aversion in the mouse as the angle of tilt was increased in this experiment are consistent with predictions from similar experiments with human subjects where motion sickness develops more rapidly as the angle of tilt is increased. It was suggested that off-vertical rotation may be a useful procedure for insuring experimental control over vestibular stimulation in animal studies of motion sickness.