Abstract
The Fawnhooded (FH) rat, Rattus norvegicus, is an apparently spontaneous mutant in both laboratory and wild stocks. It is deficient in serotonin in blood platelets and in the pineal, and has prolonged bleeding times. It also has shown a readiness to drink bitter-tasting substances (cyclohexamide and phenylthiocarbamide) in greater quantities than other rat stocks. This study was undertaken to investigate whether the FH rat would also drink a bitter-tasting substance which might have physiological significance. In three experiments, FH and normal Wistar (W) rats were given bitter-tasting L-tryptophan (L-t), phenylthiocarbamide (PTC), sweet-tasting D-tryptophan (D-t), and saccharin (S) and water in various combinations in two-bottle presentations. FH rats drank more L-t than did W rats, and W rats drank more D-t than did FH rats, although both stocks drank S and PTC freely. W rats drank more S than FH rats, whereas FH rats drank more PTC than W rats. These stocks may have different receptor sites for S, PTC, and the two tryptophans. These differential receptor characteristics may be related to the FH stock’s serotonin deficiency.
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