C-fos expression in the rat brain following lithium chloride-induced illness.

The present study examined c-Fos expression in selected brain areas consequent to administration of lithium chloride, the typical illness-inducing agent used in laboratory studies of conditioned taste aversion. The results replicated previous findings of significant c-Fos expression in the parabrachial nucleus, the central nucleus of the amygdala and the basolateral amygdala. New findings indicate significant lithium-induced c-Fos in the gustatory region of the thalamus and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis but not in the insular cortex. The results are discussed with respect to the neural substrates of conditioned taste aversion.