A rat's first bite: The nongenetic, cross-generational transfer of information.

Pm, Bronstein; Mj, Levine; Marcus, Michele

doi:10.1037/h0076814

Cited by 43 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…When the pups born to colony members first left the nest and ate solid food, they ate only the diet the adults ate, and even after being transferred to a new colony, the preference persisted. Bronstein et al (1975) obtained a similar result by restricting pregnant dams to one food and measuring pups' preferences immediately after weaning. …”

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confidence: 51%

Paradoxical effects of experience with food size and flavour in golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus

Turpin

Johnston

1991

Animal Behaviour

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Abstract:Young hamsters were reared until 35 days of age with access to food pellets of one of three sizes. They were then given a choice between the three sizes of pellets: the familiar size and two unfamiliar sizes, and the rate of energy gain from eating pellets of each size was established. Contrary to predictions from optimal foraging theory, the animals chose pellets of the most unfamiliar size, not the most profitable ones. A taste preference study was conducted to see whether hamsters respond to taste cues as do other rodents. The animals showed a preference for familiar flavours. The results of these studies suggest that the sorts of experiences animals have had with food must be considered in any account of food choice behaviour. Article:Early experience with specific food tastes can have long-lasting effects on later diet preferences. Galef and his colleagues (Galef 1977) have accumulated convincing evidence to show that food preferences in rats, Rattus norvegicus, are transmitted from dams to offspring. Galef & Clark (1971), using poison avoidance, induced a preference in adult rats for one of two nutritious and palatable foods. When the pups born to colony members first left the nest and ate solid food, they ate only the diet the adults ate, and even after being transferred to a new colony, the preference persisted. Bronstein et al. (1975) obtained a similar result by restricting pregnant dams to one food and measuring pups' preferences immediately after weaning.

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confidence: 51%

Paradoxical effects of experience with food size and flavour in golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus

Turpin

Johnston

1991

Animal Behaviour

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“…Given the importance of diet selection to species survival, longterm retention of aversions by young animals would be an adaptive characteristic. Other research has shown that young animals can acquire aversions through interactions with their mother (Bronstein, Levine, & Marcus, 1975). Some mechanism for retention of these experiences may develop at an early stage of ontogenetic development.…”

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confidence: 99%

Retention of internal experiences in juvenile and adult rats

et al. 1977

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“…Nursing is a common experience of all rats and can influence the rats' subsequent food choices. Several studies demonstrate that in feeding tests conducted outside the nest, rat pups prefer the diet consumed by their mothers (or foster mothers) over a novel diet (Galef & Clark, 1972;Galef & Henderson, 1972;Bronstein et al 1975). This preference is mediated in part through flavour cues passed through the mother's milk (Le Magnen & Tallon, 1968;Galef & Henderson, 1972;Capretta & Rawls, 1974).…”

Section: S O C I a L L Y -M E D I A T E D F O O D -P R E F E R E N C mentioning

confidence: 99%

How food preferences are learned: laboratory animal models

Sclafani

1995

Proc. Nutr. Soc.

113

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Food selection represents a major challenge for omnivorous species. Faced with a variety of potential foodstuffs, many beneficial and some deleterious, the omnivore must decide which to eat and which to reject. The select-reject decision process involves an evaluation of the sensory characteristics of the foodstuff, particularly its flavour (i.e. taste, odour and texture). Innate predispositions such as a sweet-taste preference and bitter-taste aversion influence this process. With experience, animals refine their preferences as they associate the flavours of specific foods with the foods' post-ingestive consequences. Social interactions also contribute to the food choices of many animal species. Until recently, most research has focused on conditioned food aversions which readily develop when animals experience gastrointestinal malaise after eating a new food (Braveman & Bronstein, 1985). It is now well documented that strong food preferences can also be learned as animals experience the positive nutritive effects of foods. As reviewed below, a variety of models have been developed using laboratory rats to reveal the intricacies of food-preference learning. C O N D I T I O N E D F L A V O U R -P R E F E R E N C E PARADIGMSThe most common procedure used in the experimental study of acquired food preferences is the conditioned flavour-preference (CFP) paradigm. In one version of this paradigm different cue flavours (e.g. cherry and grape) are added to an energy food and a non-energy 'food' which can be in liquid or solid form. (To control for possible unlearned preferences for the specific cue flavours, the flavours paired with the energy and non-energy foods are counterbalanced across animals.) Rats are trained to consume the two flavoured foods during separate sessions to facilitate their associating the cue flavours with the post-ingestive consequences of the foods. Flavour-preference learning is then assessed in a two-choice test. In this test, the two flavours are presented in otherwise identical foods (e.g. a mixture of the energy and non-energy foods) so that any differential intakes can be attributed to a learned response to the two cue flavours. This training procedure is typically considered to be a form of Pavlovian conditioning with the nutrient being the unconditioned stimulus (US) and its associated cue flavour, the https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi

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A rat's first bite: The nongenetic, cross-generational transfer of information.

Abstract: Weanling rats, when first exposed to solid food, showed relatively elevated intake if offered the same diet as eaten by their foster dams. Maternal caretakers pass some specific food-related information to their offspring.

Cited by 43 publications

References 7 publications

Paradoxical effects of experience with food size and flavour in golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus

Paradoxical effects of experience with food size and flavour in golden hamsters, Mesocricetus auratus

Retention of internal experiences in juvenile and adult rats

How food preferences are learned: laboratory animal models

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