Perceptual learning in flavor preference conditioning: Restricting generalization of acquired preferences between flavors
Section snippets
Experiment 1
The design of Experiment 1 is summarized in Table 1. There were two groups of rats that both received preexposure to two flavor compounds (AX and BX; caramel + quinine and chocolate + quinine) over a set of morning and afternoon sessions. Rats in Group INT received intermixed exposure to AX and BX (AX, BX, AX, BX…), whereas those in Group BLK received a block of exposure to AX, for example, followed by a block of exposure to BX (AX, AX…BX, BX…). Subsequently, rats received pairings of AX with
Experiment 2
The design of Experiment 2 is shown in Table 3, which is modeled on the flavor aversion procedure employed by Blair and Hall (2003). All rats received intermixed preexposure to a pair of compounds (AX and BX), and a block of preexposure to a further compound (CX). After the preexposure stage, rats in Group COND received conditioning trials in which AX was paired with sucrose and those in Group UNP received unpaired presentations of AX and sucrose. The inclusion of these groups should allow an
General discussion
Perceptual learning effects are well established in flavor aversion procedures in rats (e.g., Blair and Hall, 2003, Honey and Hall, 1989, Mackintosh et al., 1991, Symonds and Hall, 1995). However, the development of flavor preferences and their generalization to other similar flavors in rats is an issue that has not received a great deal of investigation. Here, preferences established by pairing one flavor compound (AX; e.g., caramel plus quinine) with sucrose generalized to other flavor
Acknowledgment
This research was supported by grants PSI2012-31641 and PSI2015-63737-P (MINECO, Spain).
References (24)
- et al.
Just a pinch of salt: an experimental comparison of the effect of repeated exposure and flavor–flavor learning with salt or spice on vegetable acceptance in toddlers
Appetite
(2014) - et al.
Effectiveness of flavour nutrient learning and mere exposure as mechanisms to increase toddler’s intake and preference for green vegetables
Appetite
(2013) - et al.
Enhanced discriminability and reduced associability following flavor preexposure
Learning and Motivation
(1989) - et al.
Changes in liking for a no added salt soup as a function of exposure
Food Quality and Preference
(2012) - et al.
Representation in development: From a model system to some general processes
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews
(2015) - et al.
Variety in a meal enhances food intake in man
Physiology & Behavior
(1981) Learned controls of ingestive behaviour
Appetite
(1997)- et al.
Perceptual learning in flavor aversion conditioning: roles of stimulus comparison and latent inhibition of common stimulus elements
Learning and Motivation
(1995) - et al.
Perceptual learning in flavor aversion: evidence for learned changes in stimulus effectiveness
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes
(2003) - et al.
Efficacy of repeated exposure and flavour–flavour learning as mechanisms to increase preschooler’s vegetable intake and acceptance
Pediatric Obesity
(2015)
Attenuation and enhancement of neophobia for edible substances
Perceptual learning in humans: roles of preexposure schedule, feedback, and discrimination assay
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology
Cited by (2)
Effect of exposure to similar flavours in sensory specific satiety: Implications for eating behaviour
2018, AppetiteCitation Excerpt :Perceptual learning can be defined as the learning process that results in an increased discrimination between two similar stimuli as a consequence of previous experience with them (for a recent review see Mitchell & Hall, 2014). Perceptual learning has proven to be a robust phenomenon, found in animals (Honey, Bateson, & Horn, 1994; Mondragón & Murphy, 2010; Prados, Sansa & Artigas, 2007; Recio, Iliescu, Honey, & de Brugada, 2016; Symonds & Hall, 1995) and humans (Dwyer, Mundy, & Honey, 2011; Lavis, Kadib, Mitchell, & Hall, 2011; Mitchell, Kadib, Nash, Lavis, & Hall, 2008; Mundy, Dwyer, & Honey, 2006; Mundy, Honey, & Dwyer, 2007; Recio, Iliescu, Mingorance, Hall & de Brugada, 2016). In the typical perceptual learning procedure animals are repeatedly exposed to two similar flavoured compound solutions, to later assess the discrimination between them.
Intermixed Rapid Exposure to Similar Stimuli Reduces the Effective Salience of Their Distinctive Features
2023, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Learning and Cognition