Neuroscience Faculty

Taste sensitivity in animals; conditioned taste aversions; animal psychophysics; microstructure of feeding and drinking; behavioral and physiological effects of high intensity magnetic fields.

Current research is focused on the sensory capabilities of laboratory rats to detect and avoid high intensity magnetic fields. Magnet fields of 7 Tesla and higher stimulate the vestibular system, resulting in turning in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise motion depending on the orientation of the animal in the magnet. The magnetic fields induce a taste aversion to sweetened solutions that lasts for 14-20 days following exposure. In addition to the research with magnets, I continue my long collaboration with Professor Ed Stricker, University of Pittsburgh, where we study feeding and drinking patterns in rats that have been treated with DOCA or PEG, rats that have been de-salivated, rats that have been adrenalectomized and rats on various food deprivation schedules. Finally, we continue our long interest in the ingestion of sweetened solutions including the mysterious synergy generated in the rat by mixtures of glucose and saccharin.

Smith, James C., John D. Davis & Gwendolen B. O'Keefe. Lack of an order effect in brief contact taste tests with closely spaced test trials. Physiology and Behavior, 52, 1107-1111, 1992.

Rowland, Neil, Tana M. Nicholson & James C. Smith. Angiotensin- converting enzyme inhibition and Na appetite: Microbehavioral analysis and nycthemeral physiology. Amer. J. Physiology , 265, R7-R13, 1993.

Granger, E. M., J. I. Glendinning, J. C. Smith & L. M. Beidler. Behavioral and electrophysiological responses to NaCl in young and old Fischer-344 Rats. Chemical Senses, 18, 419-426, 1993.

O'Keefe, G. B., J. Schumm & J. C. Smith. Loss of sensitivity to low concentration of NaCl following bilateral chorda tympani nerve sections in rats. Chemical Senses, 19, 169-184, 1994.

Glendinning, John and J. C. Smith. Consistency of ingestive patterns over consecutive day/night cycles in individual Sprague- Dawley and Fischer-344 rats. Physiology and Behavior, 56, 7-16, 1994

Rhinehart-Doty, J. A., J. Schumm, J. C. Smith & G. P. Smith. A non-taste cue of sucrose in short-term taste tests in rats. Chemical Senses, 19, 425-431, 1994.

Nolan, L. J., McCaughey, S. A., Giza, B. K., Rhinehart-Doty, J., Smith, J. C. & Scott, T. R. Extinction of a conditioned taste aversion in rats: I. Behavioral effects. Physiology and Behavior, 61, 319-323, 1997.

Stricker, E. M., Curtis, K. S., Peacock, K. and Smith, J. C. Rats with area postrema lesions have lengthy eating and drinking bouts when fed ad libitum. Behav. Neurosci., 111, 623-632, 1997.

Smith, James C. and Mike Bigbie. Bar-code scanner and software for feeding measurements. SSIB Ingestive Behavior Protocols, Paul J. Wellman, Ed.,1997.

Sclafani, A., Thompson, B. & Smith, J. C. The rat's acceptance and preference for sucrose, maltodextrin and saccharin solutions and mixtures. Physiol. & Behav.,63, 499-503, 1998.

Nolte, C. M., Pittman, D. W., Kalevitch, B., Henderson, R. & Smith, J. C. Magnetic field conditioned taste aversion in rats. Physiology and Behavior, 63,683-688, 1998.

Thaw, A. K., Gibbs, J. & Smith, J. C. Mammalian bombesin-like peptides extend the intermeal interval in freely feeding rats. Physiology and Behavior, 64, 425-428, 1998.

Stephan, F. K., Smith, J. C. & Fisher, E. M. Profound conditioned taste aversion induced by oral consumption of 2-deoxy-D-glucose. Physiology and Behavior, 68, 221-226, 1999.

Smith, J. C. Microstructure of the rat's intake of food, sucrose and saccharin in 24-hour tests. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Review, 24, 199-212, 2000.

Markison, S., Smith, J. C., Thompson, B. & Spector, A. C. Time course and pattern of compensatory ingestive behavioral adjustments to lysine deficiency. J. of Nutrition, 130, 1320-1328, 2000.

Smith, J. C., Fisher, E. M., Maleszewski, V. & McClain, B. Orosensory factors in the ingestion of corn oil/sucrose mixtures by the rat. Physiology and Behavior, 69, 135-146, 2000.

Snyder, D. J., Jeong, W. J., Smith, J. C. and Houpt, T. A. c-Fos induction in visceral and vestibular nuclei of the rat brain stem by a 9.4 T magnetic field. Chemical Neuroscience, 11, 2681-2685, 2000.

Robert J. Contreras, Donna L. Wong, Ross Henderson, Kathleen S. Curtis, James C. Smith, High dietary NaCl early in development enhances mean arterial pressure of adult rats, Physiology & Behavior 71 (1-2) (2000) pp. 173-181.

Stricker, E. M., Craver, Curtis, K. S., Peacock, C.F, Sved, A. F. and Smith, J. C. Osmoregulation in water-deprived rats drinking concentrated NaCl solutions: Effect of area postrema lesions. Amer. J. Physiol., 280: R831-R842, 2001.

Davidson, A.J., Aragona, B.J., Werner, R.M., Schroeder, E., Smith, J.C., & Stephan, F.K. (2001) Food-anticipatory activity persists after olfactory bulb ablation in the rat. Physiol. Behav. 72:231-235.

Smith, J. C. The history of the Davis Rig. Appetite. 36, 93-98, 2001

Smith, J. C. and Sclafani, A. Saccharin as a sugar surrogate revisited. Appetite 38, 155-160, 2002.

Houpt, T. A., Pittman, D. W., Barranco, J. M., Brooks, E. H. and Smith, J. C. Behavioral effects of high strength static magnetic fields on rats. J. Neuroscience 23(4), 1498-1505, 2003

Lockwood, D. R., Kwan, B., Smith, J. C. and Houpt, T. A. Behavioral effects of static magnetic fields on unrestrained and restrained mice. Physiology and Behavior 78, 635-640, 2003

Stricker, E. M., Hoffmann, M. L. Riccardi, C. J., Smith, J. C. Increased water intake by rats maintained on high NaCl diet: Analysis of ingestive behavior. Physiology and Behavior 79, 621-631. 2003.

Spector, A. C. and Smith, J. C. Neurobehavioral analysis of taste function. In, Handbook of Behavioral Neurobiology, Stricker, E. and Woods. S eds. Kluwer (Plenum Press), New York, 2004.

Smith, J. C. Gustation as a factor in the ingestion of sweet and fat emulsions by the rat. Physiology and Behavior, 82, 181-185, 2004.

Houpt, T. A., D. W. Pittman, C. Riccardi, J. A. Cassell, D. R. Lockwood, J. M. Barranco, B. S. Kwon and J. C. Smith. Behavioral effects on rat of high strength magnetic fields generated by a restitive electromagnet. Physiol. & Behav. 86, 379-389, 2005.

Michael E. Rashotte & James C. Smith. Psychobiology and Neuroscience at The Florida State University: A History. Physiology and Behavior, 86, 261-264, 2005.

Cason, A. M. DenBleyker, M, Ferrence, K., Smith, J. C., & Houpt, T. A. Sex and Estrous Cycle Differences in the Behavioral Effects of High-Strength Static Magnetic Fields: Role of Ovarian Steroids. Am. J. Physiol. Regul. Integr. Comp. Physiol. 2005.

Hoffmann, M. L., DenBleyker, M., Smith, J. C. & Stricker, E. M. Inhibition of thirst when dehydrated rats drink water or saline. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2005.