Influences of hypothyroidism on the taste detection performance of rats: a signal detection analysis.

The influences of hypothyroidism on behavioral measures of the taste function in male and female Long-Evans rats were determined. Experimental rats' preferences for and ability to detect NaCl, HCl, sucrose, and quinine sulfate were examined before, during, and after 9 weeks of maintenance on 0.1% propylthiouracil (PTU), an agent that produces marked hypothyroidism, with similar determinations made for control animals.