Paula J. Brice, Ph.D.

TITLE: Research Scientist, Department of Medicine

COMPANY: Indiana University School of Medicine

Advisor: Dr. Stephen Kiefer

Dissertation Title

Genetic selection for rat lines that show a high and low taste preference for alcohol.

Dissertation Abstract

Rat lines were selectively bred to determine if the taste reactivity to alcohol (as measured by the taste reactivity test) was heritable and to examine possible correlated responses to taste. In this project, rats of heterogeneous stock were given two intraoral infusions of 10% alcohol (one presentation per day) and the resulting orofacial responses were videotaped and analyzed in detail. Based on the number of ingestive responses made to alcohol, two male/female pairs were selected to start a High Ingestive Responding line (HIR), a Low Ingestive Responding line (LIR), and a Control line. The progeny of the P$\sb1$ generation were also subjected to taste reactivity tests using the same solutions. After one generation of selection, the heritability for the total realized response difference between the HIR and LIR lines was.43. Statistical analysis of the ingestive responses to alcohol for the S$\sb1$ generation revealed a significant Line effect. The HIR line made significantly more ingestive responses to alcohol than the LIR or Control lines. The LIR line made more ingestive responses to alcohol than the Control line; however, this difference was not significant. The divergence between the HIR and LIR line in the S$\sb1$ generation, the response to selection, was evidence that there is a significant additive genetic component of variance for the phenotype in question, taste reactivity to alcohol. In addition to the taste reactivity tests, both the P$\sb1$ and S$\sb1$ generations were also given two-bottle fluid consumption tests. Analysis of the consumption data showed that the HIR and Control lines consumed more alcohol than the LIR line. Correlations between taste reactivity and consumption, however, revealed no significant phenotypic correlations. This was evidence that consumption of alcohol is not a correlated response to selection.

Education

Ph.D., Psychology, Kansas State University, 1992