Aversive conditioning properties of caffeine in rats

• Published in: Pharmacology, biochemistry and behavior Vol. 31; no. 3; pp. 579 - 584
• Main Authors: Steigerwald, Elizabeth S., Rusiniak, Kenneth W., Eckel, Debbie L., O'Regan, Michael H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York, NY Elsevier Inc 01.11.1988; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Animals; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Caffein; Caffeine - pharmacology; Conditioned taste aversion; Conditioning (Psychology) - drug effects; Cues; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug conditioning; Male; Medical sciences; Neuropharmacology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Psychoanaleptics: cns stimulant, antidepressant agent, nootropic agent, mood stabilizer..., (alzheimer disease); Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopharmacology; Purine; Purines - pharmacology; Rats; Rats, Inbred Strains; Reaction Time; Saccharin - administration & dosage; Stimulants; Taste; Caffein; Conditioned taste aversion; Purine; Stimulants; Drug conditioning; Intraperitoneal administration; Rat; CNS stimulant; Psychotropic; Rodentia; Biological activity; Alimentary aversion; Dose activity relation; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Gustation; Taste; Xanthine derivatives; Conditioning; Caffeine
• ISSN: 0091-3057; 1873-5177
• DOI: 10.1016/0091-3057(88)90233-X

Four experiments tested the conditioning effects of caffeine. Flavor and place cues were paired with IP caffeine injections and followed by tests for cue preference. In Experiment 1A, saccharin was paired with 1.25, 5 or 20 mg/kg of caffeine. In Experiment 1B, caffeine was delivered 30 min before, 5 min before, or 30 min after saccharin. Dose- and time-dependent conditioned taste aversions were produced. In Experiment 2, a place and taste cue were paired simultaneously with 5 or 20 mg/kg of caffeine. Conditioned place and taste aversions developed at 20, but not at 5 mg/kg. In Experiment 3, a place cue alone was paired with 0, 5, or 20 mg/kg of caffeine; dose-dependent conditioned place aversions developed. In Experiment 4, place and taste cues were paired with control treatments: pH-buffered caffeine, purine or vehicle. Caffeine produced taste aversions whereas the purine and vehicle did not. These aversive conditioning effects of caffeine across a variety of situations, doses and temporal arrangements stand in contrast to results obtained with other psychoactive drugs, such as amphetamine and alcohol.