Different mechanisms for social transmission of diet preference in rat pups of different ages

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Abstract
We examined the role of simple exposure to a diet in the development of preference for that diet in rat pups 21, 28, 38, and 45 days of age. We found: (1) that 21‐day‐old rat pups exhibited a preference for a diet to which they were simply exposed for 30 min; (2) that 28‐, 38‐, and 45‐day‐old pups failed to exhibit simple‐exposure induced preference for a diet; and (3) that pups at all ages examined, exposed for 30 min to an anesthetized conspecific whose face had been dusted with a diet, subsequently exhibited a preference for that diet. We interpreted these data as indicating that socially‐induced diet preference in 21‐day‐old pups can be explained by effects of simple exposure, while socially‐induced diet preference in older rats cannot. Pups older than 21 days of age appear more sensitive to the social context in which diet‐identifying olfactory cues are experienced than do 21‐day‐old pups.