Factors that influence choice between qualitatively different reinforcers (e.g., a food item or a break from work) are important to consider when arranging treatments for problem behavior. Previous findings indicate that children who engage in problem behavior maintained by escape from demands may choose a food item over the functional reinforcer during treatment (DeLeon, Neidert, Anders, & Rod...

Effects of ovarian hormones on sex and ingestive behavior are well studied, and yet, their role in diverting attention from food to sex has not been examined directly, possibly because these functions are masked under conditions of excessive food abundance typical of the laboratory. Female Syrian hamsters were either fed ad libitum or food-restricted to 75% of their ad libitum intake for 8days ...

A study selected 5 cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) located at the Frank Buck Zoo in Gainesville, Texas, for a food preference assessment. The study used a paired-choice procedure across 7 different food items for all 5 tamarins. Preferences for the food items across all the tamarins varied, although general trends were noted as well. This article discusses the benefits of using paired-ch...

Bilateral lesions in the Ventromedial nucleus of hypothalamus (VMH) cause hyperphagia and a preference for high lipid, high carbohydrate diet. Reversible lesion by procaine microinfusion produces a decrease in serum glucose and immunoreactive insulin levels. In the present study the effect of procaine microinfusion on feeding behavior and taste preference was observed. 5 h and 24 h food intake,...

Previous research indicates that food deprivation increases the rat's preference for high-fat over low-fat foods. Since these foods differ in their flavors and post-ingestive effects, both factors may be implicated. The present study investigated preferences in food deprived and non-deprived rats using non-nutritive mineral oil emulsion (MO) and saccharin solution (SAC), which have a fatty flav...

Analysis of previous literature on the role of food in life in France and the United States suggests some fundamental differences in attitudes which may generalize outside of the food domain. Questionnaire results from French and American adults suggest that, compared to the French, Americans emphasize quantity rather than quality in making choices, Americans have a higher preference for variet...

OBJECTIVE Dialysis patients frequently report a change of taste that is reversible after renal transplantation, suggesting that uremic toxins may negatively influence taste. Currently, frequent nocturnal home hemodialysis (NHHD) is the most effective method of hemodialysis, and is associated with the lowest levels of uremic toxins. We studied preferences for various foods as an indicator of tas...

Food choice is known to be correlated with genotype in the crustacean Gammarus palustris. Given a choice of Enteromorpha intestinalis (E) over Ulva lactuca (U), individuals homozygous for the Amy II.52 allele have a greater preference for E than do Amy II.55 homozygotes. To account for this correlation, we hypothesized that the proportions of saccharides released by the enzymatic action of Amy ...