The influence of age and experience on salt preference of the rat.

The degree to which adult taste preferences can be influenced by early taste exposure is a matter of some debate. The present studies characterize the developmental course of saline preference during maturation in the rat and examine whether adult saline preference is influenced by postweaning exposure to saline solutions. Saline intake from weaning to adulthood was examined in Wistar rats allowed continuous access to demineralized water and either .0, .9, 1.8, or 2.7% sodium chloride (NaCl) w/v solutions. When rats were immature they expressed greater preference for saline solutions than they did as adults. It is hypothesized that the overconsumption of saline by young animals is related to lower sensitivity of the taste system to NaCl in the early postweaning period. Animals that had had continuous access to saline from weaning were compared to those that had not received saline exposure early in life, in order to determine whether extensive experience with salt solutions leads to alterations in adult salt preference. These studies failed to reveal any evidence that rearing condition affects adult salt preference; thus adult salt preference may be maturationally determined and relatively independent of postweaning environmental influences.