Conditioned flavor aversions: assessment of drug-induced suppression of food intake.

Administration of a drug following ingestion of a novel food or solution often suppresses subsequent intake of the new food or solution. This suppression is associative, in that consumption is not suppressed when there is no temporal relationship between consumption and drug administration. The robust nature of aversion learning has made this procedure a sensitive and widely used behavioral index of drug side effects. The procedures described in this unit are suitable for work with rodents, and may require modifications, e.g., in presentation of the ingesta and drug for other species. Familiar and novel foods may be used instead of solutions, with similar results.