ArticlesHyperresponsiveness to Palatable and Aversive Taste Stimuli in Genetically Obese (Bombesin Receptor Subtype-3–Deficient) Mice
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Breeding and experimental conditions
Breeding and all experiments were conducted in a temperature- and humidity-controlled room (23 ± 2°C, 60 ± 5%). The light–dark cycle was 12:12 (lights on at 0800 h). Mice were housed in ordinary plastic caging [190 × 260 × 125 (H) mm] with wood shavings. All mice were housed individually for at least 2 weeks before the beginning of the experiment. Ordinary laboratory chow (JCL Inc. CE-2, 342.2 kcal/100 g) and water were freely available to mice, unless specified otherwise. The following animal
Taste Preference Test
In the taste preference test, BRS-3–deficient mice not only showed greater preference for sodium saccharin relative to wild-type control mice (t = 2.89, p < 0.02, two-tailed), but also exhibited a lower preference for quinine sulfate (t = 2.81, p < 0.03, two-tailed; Fig. 1). Although BRS-3–deficient mice showed slightly greater preferences for both sodium chloride and citric acid than did wild-type mice, these differences were not statistically significant (t = 0.29, NS; t = 1.53, NS,
Discussion
In this study, we examined taste preference/aversion in BRS-3–deficient mice. In the taste preference test, BRS-3–deficient mice showed a stronger preference for sodium saccharin solution and a stronger aversive response to quinine sulfate solution when compared with wild-type mice. These results indicate that BRS-3–deficient mice exhibit greater responsiveness to the palatability of taste stimuli. Although BRS-3–deficient mice showed a strong preference for sodium saccharin but not for sodium
Acknowledgements
This work was supported in part by research grants from The Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Science and Technology of Japan, the Japan Health Science Foundation and the Japan Foundation for Neuroscience and Mental Health.
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