Sex Differences in Taste Aversion Learning: an Analysis of the Minimal Effective Dose

Male and female rats injected with various doses of LiCl following the consumption of a novel saccharin solution subsequently avoided consumption of saccharin, with the degree of the aversion directly related to the dose of LiCl. Although this dose-response relationship was evident for both males and females, the minimal effective dose for inducing an aversion was lower for males, an effect consistent with previous work examining sex differences in taste aversion learning. The necessity of considering sex as a variable when comparing the relative sensitivity of behavioral measures of toxicity was discussed.