TASTE STIMULATION AND PREFERENCE BEHAVIOR 



E- ! 

 27'' Hour 



269 



Lllkj 



I M NoCI 



Fig. 



Record of development of preferential drinking of NaCl in a continuous 

 ad lib. situation. 



first or early in the second day, alternate sampling and preferential choice 

 of saline was clearly observed. Figure 8 illustrates one such transition 

 period, after which the animal displayed a stable salt preference. Table 1 

 shows the number of licks at salt and water tubes from the beginning of 

 the observations for one animal. 



Table 1 . Rat no. 2, Number of licks 



After the first day, the animal showed a consistent preference regardless 

 of the position of the tube containing salt (1 = R, 2 = L). Examination 

 of the continuous recording showed that occasional sampling of " the 

 other " tube continues throughout but that, when water was encountered, 

 drinking stopped and the animal waited or shifted to the saline container. 

 This behavior is clearly preferential, not just the chance drinking of 



