Stress and consumption: inescapable shock, neophobia, and quinine finickiness in rats. 1995

R F Job, and B W Barnes
Department of Psychology, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Exposure to inescapable shock has been shown to result in reduced consumption of quinine in water (the finickiness effect) in rats. In the present experiment, (a) a clear difference in finickiness occurred between male adult rats exposed to inescapable shock and those exposed to escapable shock (the first such demonstration), (b) finickiness was reinstated 20 days later, and (c) finickiness was eliminated by quinine exposure prior to treatment. The first 2 results support the role of uncontrollability and/or unpredictability in finickiness and extend its potential impact to long-term consequences. This allows greater potential for the modeling of long-term effects, such as eating disorders and depression in humans. The finding that preexposure to quinine eliminated finickiness is contrary to current accounts of the effect. Accounts of finickiness are proposed in terms of classically conditioned aversions, bitterness, and neuropeptide control of ingestion.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D011803 Quinine An alkaloid derived from the bark of the cinchona tree. It is used as an antimalarial drug, and is the active ingredient in extracts of the cinchona that have been used for that purpose since before 1633. Quinine is also a mild antipyretic and analgesic and has been used in common cold preparations for that purpose. It was used commonly and as a bitter and flavoring agent, and is still useful for the treatment of babesiosis. Quinine is also useful in some muscular disorders, especially nocturnal leg cramps and myotonia congenita, because of its direct effects on muscle membrane and sodium channels. The mechanisms of its antimalarial effects are not well understood. Biquinate,Legatrim,Myoquin,Quinamm,Quinbisan,Quinbisul,Quindan,Quinimax,Quinine Bisulfate,Quinine Hydrochloride,Quinine Lafran,Quinine Sulfate,Quinine Sulphate,Quinine-Odan,Quinoctal,Quinson,Quinsul,Strema,Surquina,Bisulfate, Quinine,Hydrochloride, Quinine,Sulfate, Quinine,Sulphate, Quinine
D011939 Mental Recall The process whereby a representation of past experience is elicited. Recall, Mental
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
D004326 Drinking The consumption of liquids. Water Consumption,Water Intake,Drinkings
D004597 Electroshock Induction of a stress reaction in experimental subjects by means of an electrical shock; applies to either convulsive or non-convulsive states. Electroconvulsive Shock,Electroconvulsive Shocks,Electroshocks,Shock, Electroconvulsive,Shocks, Electroconvulsive
D004924 Escape Reaction Innate response elicited by sensory stimuli associated with a threatening situation, or actual confrontation with an enemy. Flight Reaction,Escape Reactions,Flight Reactions,Reaction, Escape,Reaction, Flight,Reactions, Escape,Reactions, Flight
D005239 Fear The affective response to an actual current external danger which subsides with the elimination of the threatening condition. Threat Cues,Threat Sensitivity,Cue, Threat,Fears,Sensitivity, Threat,Threat Cue,Threat Sensitivities
D006185 Habituation, Psychophysiologic The disappearance of responsiveness to a repeated stimulation. It does not include drug habituation. Habituation (Psychophysiology),Habituation, Psychophysiological,Psychophysiologic Habituation,Psychophysiological Habituation,Habituations (Psychophysiology)
D006380 Helplessness, Learned Learned expectation that one's responses are independent of reward and, hence, do not predict or control the occurrence of rewards. Learned helplessness derives from a history, experimentally induced or naturally occurring, of having received punishment/aversive stimulation regardless of responses made. Such circumstances result in an impaired ability to learn. Used for human or animal populations. (APA, Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 1994) Learned Helplessness

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