Age-related changes in conditioned flavor preference in rats

Age-related changes have been documented in regions of the brain shown to process reward information. However, few studies have examined the effects of aging on associative memory for reward. The present study tested 7- and 24-month-old rats on a conditioned flavor preference task. Half of the rats in each age group received an unsweetened grape-flavored solution (CS−) on odd-numbered days and a sweetened cherry-flavored solution (CS+) on even-numbered days. The remaining rats in each age group received a sweetened grape-flavored solution (CS+) on odd-numbered days and an unsweetened cherry-flavored solution (CS−) on even-numbered days. During the acquisition phase of testing, the designated solution (CS+ or CS−) was presented to each rat for 15 min daily across six consecutive days. On the preference phase, each rat received unsweetened cherry and unsweetened grape-flavored solutions simultaneously for 15 min daily across four consecutive days. The 7-month-old rats showed a significant preference for the flavor that was previously sweetened during the acquisition phase (CS+) compared to the previously unsweetened solution (CS−) when the two unsweetened solutions were presented simultaneously during the preference phase of testing. In contrast, the 24-month-old rats did not show a preference and consumed roughly equal amounts of the previously sweetened (CS+) and unsweetened (CS−) solutions. Thus, the data suggest that the ability to form flavor–reward associations declines with increasing age, resulting in impaired conditioned flavor preference.