Chemical Senses Advance Access originally published online on September 4, 2008
Chemical Senses 2009 34(1):27-35; doi:10.1093/chemse/bjn049
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Variation in Nicotine Consumption in Inbred Mice Is Not Linked to Orosensory Ability
Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA
Correspondence to be sent to: John D. Boughter Jr, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163, USA. e-mail: jboughter{at}utmem.edu
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Abstract |
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Genetic studies of nicotine addiction in mice have utilized the oral self-administration model. However, it is unclear if strain differences in nicotine consumption are influenced by variation in bitter taste sensitivity. We measured both nicotine consumption and nicotine brief-access licking behavior in several commonly used inbred strains of mice that were previously shown to differ in nicotine consumption. A/J (A), C57BL/6J (B6), and DBA/2J (D2) mice were given a 2-bottle choice test with a single concentration of nicotine (75 µg/ml; nicotine vs. water). Mice of these strains were also tested with a range of nicotine concentrations (5–400 µg/ml) using a brief-access test, which measures orosensory response and minimizes postingestive effects. Although B6 mice consumed more 75-µg/ml nicotine than A or D2 mice in the 2-bottle test, these strains did not differ in level of aversion to nicotine when tested with the brief-access procedure. Strain differences in orosensory response to nicotine were not found; yet, differences emerged during the 2-bottle tests. This study provides evidence that variation in intake level of nicotine is likely not due to differences in taste or trigeminal sensitivity but likely due to postingestive factors.
Key words: A/J, aversion, C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, inbred, intake, mice, nicotine, orosensory, taste
Accepted 4 August 2008