Conditioned aversion to amino acid flavors in the catfish, Ictalurus punctatus

Abstract

Naive catfish readily accepted foof flavored with L-cysteine but generally avoided foods flavored with other amino acids. The aversions to these latter amino acids quickly disappeared after the fish had feeding experience with each. When illness induced by lithium chloride was paired with an amino acid, that flavor strongly avoided. Amino acids structurally similar to that were also avoided while other amino acid flavors were readily consumed. My studies on anosmic fish indicate that olfaction does not play a role in conditioning amino acid taste aversions. Observations of the sequential units of the feeding response suggest that sensory input to the vagal lobe of the brain is primarily responsible for taste aversion discrimination.