Conditioned taste aversion induced by fluoxetine

The present study assessed the ability of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine (FLX) and lithium chloride (LiCl) to induce conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to a novel 20% sucrose solution. FLX (2, 5, or 8 mg/kg) or LiCl (10 mg/kg) was administered 30 min after an initial exposure to the solution. A single-bottle test of CTA 24 h after the initial exposure indicated that rats that received FLX, at any dose, or LiCl consumed significantly less solution than did those that received a vehicle treatment following the initial exposure. To examine the possibility that decreased consumption during the CTA test exposure was associated with lasting hypophagia and/or hypodipsia induced by FLX, separate groups of rats, without any prior exposure to the solution, were administered FLX (2, 5, or 8 mg/kg) and given access 24 h later to a 20% sucrose solution. FLX failed to suppress consumption of the solution at any dose. These data suggest that FLX induces an aversive drug state in rats, similar to that induced by LiCl, which serves as a potent conditioned stimulus in CTA. In addition, this CTA is independent of FLX-induced hypophagia and/or hypodipsia. The relevance of these results to the study of hypophagia induced by FLX administration is discussed.