Conditioned social aversion in the male Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus). 1981

T F Pettijohn

Adult male Mongolian gerbils formed conditioned social aversions to young male conspecifics. The basic paradigm consisted of pairing a subject with a young animal (test stimulus) for 5 min and then injecting the subject with lithium chloride to produce gastrointestinal distress. When retested 48 hr later, the subject avoided the animal used as a test stimulus, as indicated by significantly decreased investigation time and approach frequency. Through a series of experiments on dose level, delay of toxin injection, and stimulus generalization, it was demonstrated that a dose of .03 ml/g body weight of .15 M LiCl is effective, the injection of the toxin should be given within 15 min of the preliminary social pairing, the social aversion formed is specific to the particular first paired stimulus animal, and isolation between test sessions is necessary for an aversion to develop. This paradigm of conditioned social aversion extends our knowledge of the learned aversion process and demonstrates that this type of learning can be generalized to a social situation by gerbils.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008094 Lithium An element in the alkali metals family. It has the atomic symbol Li, atomic number 3, and atomic weight [6.938; 6.997]. Salts of lithium are used in treating BIPOLAR DISORDER. Lithium-7,Lithium 7
D008297 Male Males
D003214 Conditioning, Classical Learning that takes place when a conditioned stimulus is paired with an unconditioned stimulus. Reflex, Conditioned,Classical Conditioning,Classical Conditionings,Conditioned Reflex,Conditionings, Classical
D004305 Dose-Response Relationship, Drug The relationship between the dose of an administered drug and the response of the organism to the drug. Dose Response Relationship, Drug,Dose-Response Relationships, Drug,Drug Dose-Response Relationship,Drug Dose-Response Relationships,Relationship, Drug Dose-Response,Relationships, Drug Dose-Response
D005849 Gerbillinae A subfamily of the Muridae consisting of several genera including Gerbillus, Rhombomys, Tatera, Meriones, and Psammomys. Gerbils,Jird,Meriones,Psammomys,Rats, Sand,Gerbil,Jirds,Merione,Rat, Sand,Sand Rat,Sand Rats
D000818 Animals Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA. Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D001362 Avoidance Learning A response to a cue that is instrumental in avoiding a noxious experience. Aversion Behavior,Aversion Learning,Aversive Behavior,Aversive Learning,Avoidance Behavior,Aversion Behaviors,Aversive Behaviors,Avoidance Behaviors,Behavior, Aversion,Behavior, Aversive,Behavior, Avoidance,Behaviors, Aversion,Behaviors, Aversive,Behaviors, Avoidance,Learning, Aversion,Learning, Aversive,Learning, Avoidance
D012919 Social Behavior Any behavior caused by or affecting another individual or group usually of the same species. Sociality,Behavior, Social,Behaviors, Social,Social Behaviors

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