AAB and ABA renewal as a function of the number of extinction trials in conditioned taste aversion

Three experiments explored renewal in conditioned taste aversion after different amounts of extinction. In Experiment 1, three groups of rats received a single conditioning trial where a saccharin solution was paired with LiCl, followed by 3 extinction trials, and a two-trial test. Groups differed in the context where they received each of the phases (AAA, ABA, and AAB). The context change after extinction renewed taste aversion, regardless of whether it involved a return to the conditioning context (ABA), or going to a different context (AAB). In Experiment 2, increasing to 5 the number of extinction trials eliminated renewal in group AAB. Experiment 3 replicated these results within a factorial design. The implications of the differential effect of the amount of extinction on AAB and ABA renewal for a retrieval theory of forgetting are discussed.