Loss of sensitivity to low concentrations of NaCl following bilateral chorda tympani nerve sections in rats

A reliable short-term NaCl taste test was developed for ratswhich resulted in differential responding to a variety of concentrations.The rats were required to exist on a low sodium diet for 8–10days prior to the initiation of testing. The peak response inthis test was to isotonic NaCl with lesser responding to hyper-and hypotonc solutions. After stable responding was obtained,bilateral sections were made of the chorda tympani nerves. Thissurgery resulted in a loss of sensitivity to the lowest hypotonicsolutions (0.03 and 0.06 M NaCl). Little, if any, effect wasnoted in the perception of sucrose following these nerve sections.