Oral Administration of Ethanol Effects on Taste Bud Volume in Neonatal Sprague-Dawley Rats
Advisor Information
Suzanne Sollars
Location
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
7-3-2014 9:00 AM
End Date
7-3-2014 12:00 PM
Abstract
Many studies of the taste system involve the administration of ethanol as a common solvent for taste solutions. Since the taste system of neonatal rats is still immature until 40 days of age and given that ethanol is a trigeminal irritant (tactile, thermal and/or pain sensation is affected), there are potential implications with the use of ethanol in taste research. In this experiment, neonatal rats were treated with either orally administered ethanol or sham solution to explore the potential interaction between the taste and trigeminal systems across the animals’ development. This project measured the differences in taste bud volume between 20 female Sprague-Dawley rat pups, 10 of which received a solution containing ethanol (2.5% ethanol in a 30% sucrose solution) and the other 10 received a control solution (30% sucrose in distilled water). Treatment began at 5 days of age and continued for 40 consecutive days, with animals receiving a treatment once a day for 60 minutes. Half of the rats from each treatment condition were sacrificed 2 days post-treatment while the remaining rats were sacrificed 50 days posttreatments to investigate short and long-term effects, respectively. Animal tissue was sectioned, stained, and traced using Neurolucida Software (MicroBrightField Inc.). Ongoing analysis aims to reveal if significant differences in taste bud volume are present between treatment groups. Regardless of the results, further research could explore the chemosensory responsiveness to ethanol at higher concentrations and help derive a threshold to ethanol-mediated taste bud morphology.
Oral Administration of Ethanol Effects on Taste Bud Volume in Neonatal Sprague-Dawley Rats
Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library
Many studies of the taste system involve the administration of ethanol as a common solvent for taste solutions. Since the taste system of neonatal rats is still immature until 40 days of age and given that ethanol is a trigeminal irritant (tactile, thermal and/or pain sensation is affected), there are potential implications with the use of ethanol in taste research. In this experiment, neonatal rats were treated with either orally administered ethanol or sham solution to explore the potential interaction between the taste and trigeminal systems across the animals’ development. This project measured the differences in taste bud volume between 20 female Sprague-Dawley rat pups, 10 of which received a solution containing ethanol (2.5% ethanol in a 30% sucrose solution) and the other 10 received a control solution (30% sucrose in distilled water). Treatment began at 5 days of age and continued for 40 consecutive days, with animals receiving a treatment once a day for 60 minutes. Half of the rats from each treatment condition were sacrificed 2 days post-treatment while the remaining rats were sacrificed 50 days posttreatments to investigate short and long-term effects, respectively. Animal tissue was sectioned, stained, and traced using Neurolucida Software (MicroBrightField Inc.). Ongoing analysis aims to reveal if significant differences in taste bud volume are present between treatment groups. Regardless of the results, further research could explore the chemosensory responsiveness to ethanol at higher concentrations and help derive a threshold to ethanol-mediated taste bud morphology.