Odors of individuality originating from the major histocompatibility complex are masked by diet cues in the urine of rats

被引:31
作者
Schellinck, HM
Slotnick, BM
Brown, RE
机构
[1] DALHOUSIE UNIV,DEPT PSYCHOL,HALIFAX,NS B3H 4J1,CANADA
[2] AMERICAN UNIV,WASHINGTON,DC 20016
来源
ANIMAL LEARNING & BEHAVIOR | 1997年 / 25卷 / 02期
关键词
D O I
10.3758/BF03199058
中图分类号
B84 [心理学];
学科分类号
04 ; 0402 ;
摘要
Male Long-Evans rats were trained to discriminate between the urine odors of two congenic strains of rats (PVG and PVG.R1) in an olfactometer on a go/no-go operant task with water reinforcement. These odor donors differ genetically at only one locus of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). The ability of the subjects to transfer their training to discriminate between novel individuals of the same MHC strain on the same and different diets was then examined. The subjects correctly generalized their original training to new samples from previously undiscriminated individuals of the same MHC type on the same diet without a significant drop in performance. A change in diet disrupted the perception of the MHC-related odor. In a second experiment, rats were trained to discriminate between the odors of pairs of genetically identical PVG or PVG.R1 rats on different diets and were tested for generalization using the odors of rats of the other strain (PVG.R1 or PVG) maintained on the same diet. Changing the strain of the odor donor did not disrupt the learned discrimination. The results of these two experiments confirm the ability of the MHC to generate constant cues in the urine but also reveal that variable diet cues disrupt the perception of these cues. The relationship between the MHC, diet, and other factors in determining individual odors is discussed.
引用
收藏
页码:193 / 199
页数:7
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