Active transmission of poison avoidance among rats?

Abstract

Results of a recent study of Danguir and Nicolaidis suggest that pairs of rats trained to avoid ingesting LiCl solution will physically restrain naive conspecifics and actively interfere with the naive rats' ingestion of a similar-tasting NaCl solution. If confirmed, this result would be the first controlled demonstration of an active role of the transmitter of behavior in a social learning situation. Replication with more precise measure of NaCl ingestion revealed that evidence in the Danguir and Nicolaidis study of socially induced reduced consumption by naive subjects resulted from a measurement error. The observed small intake of NaCl by naive subjects may be interpreted as resulting from neophobis rather than social interaction.