Un hombre mecánico. A Clockwork Orange, de Stanley Kubrick / A mechanical man. A Clockwork Orange, by Stanley Kubrick

En diciembre 2021 el periodista Oscar Ranzani publicó en el diario Página/12 dos importantes notas por el 50 aniversario del estreno de La naranja mecánica. En una de ella entrevistó a gente de cine, en la otra a psicoanalistas. El presente artículo, preparado especialmente por Eduardo Laso desarrolla esta segunda perspectiva a partir de tesis anteriores contenidas en su libro "Ética y malestar" y retomadas en el comentario de Juan Jorge Michel Fariña, que forma parte del mencionado reportaje: "Alex, el personaje de La naranja mecánica, funda su ética en la máxima de goce del marqués de Sade. Es decir, edifica sus acciones y las de sus drugos (los jóvenes que integran la banda criminal que comanda Alex) en una forma del mal que le genera, sin embargo, un inquietante bienestar (…) Cuando Alex es apresado y sometido al tratamiento Ludovico, nos encontramos con el reverso de esta máxima sadeana, ahora ejercida por la ciencia. Podemos decir que el programa de rehabilitación ejerce el bien en el mal, es decir, en nombre de un bien supremo (la curación, la rehabilitación) somete al sujeto a las peores vejaciones. Esta dialéctica kantiano-sadeana entre el mal en el bien y el bien en el mal, formalizada por Lacan en 1966, es un hallazgo de la novela de Burgess, publicada en 1962. Y por cierto una de las cuestiones analíticas más potentes de la película de Kubrick

In December 2021, the journalist and psychologist Oscar Ranzani published two important notes in the newspaper Página/12 for the 50th anniversary of the premiere of A Clockwork Orange. In one of them he interviewed film people, in the other psychoanalysts. This article, specially prepared by Eduardo Laso, develops this second perspective based on previous theses contained in his book "Ethics and Malaise" and taken up in the comment by Juan Jorge Michel Fariña, which is part of the aforementioned report: "Alex, the character of A Clockwork Orange, bases its ethics on the maxim of jouissance of the Marquis de Sade. That is to say, he builds his actions and those of his droogs (the young people who make up the criminal gang commanded by him) in a form of evil that generates, however, a disturbing well-being (...) When Alex is arrested and subjected to the Ludovico treatment, we find the reverse of this Sadean maxim, now exercised by science. We can say that the rehabilitation program exercises good in evil, that is, in the name of a supreme good (healing, rehabilitation) it subjects Alex to the worst abuse. This Kantian-Sadean dialectic between evil in good and good in evil, formalized by Lacan in 1966, is a finding of Burgess's novel, published in 1962. And certainly one of the most powerful analytical questions of the film of Kubrick

Using an invertebrate model to investigate the mechanisms of short-term memory deficits induced by food deprivation.

Although prolonged food deprivation is known to cause memory deficits, the underlying mechanisms are only partially understood. In this study, we began to investigate the cellular substrates of food deprivation-induced memory impairments in the invertebrate Aplysia. Following a single trial of noxious stimuli, Aplysia concurrently express short-term sensitization (an elementary form of learning in which withdrawal reflexes are enhanced) and short-term feeding suppression for at least 15 min. Cellular correlates of sensitization and feeding suppression include increased excitability of the tail sensory neurons (TSNs) controlling the withdrawal reflexes, and decreased excitability of feeding decision-making neuron B51, respectively. Recently, 14 days of food deprivation (14DFD) was reported to break the co-expression of sensitization and feeding suppression in Aplysia without health deterioration. Specifically, under 14DFD, sensitization was completely prevented while feeding suppression was present albeit attenuated. This study explored the cellular mechanisms underlying the absent sensitization and reduced feeding suppression under 14DFD. A reduced preparation was used to evaluate the short-term cellular modifications induced by delivering an aversive training protocol in vitro. TSN excitability failed to increase following in vitro training under 14DFD, suggesting that the lack of sensitization may be a consequence of the fact that TSN excitability failed to increase. B51 excitability also failed to decrease following in vitro training, indicating that additional neurons may contribute to the conserved albeit reduced feeding suppression in 14DFD animals. This study lays the foundations for the future use of the Aplysia model system to investigate the mechanisms underlying the memory impairments induced by prolonged food deprivation.

Launch of IRCT report on conversion therapy.

On 23 April 2020, IRCT published its research on the global practice of conversion therapy. The report, entitled "It's Torture Not Therapy," compiles information on the "practices, practitioners and roles of states in conducting, supporting, promoting and acquiescing in conversion therapy" and is intended to supplement the Expert Statement of the Independent Forensic Expert Group on the same issue, also printed in this edition of Torture Journal.

Statement of the Independent Forensic Expert Group on Conversion Therapy.

Conversion therapy is a set of practices that aim to change or alter an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. It is premised on a belief that an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed and that doing so is a desirable outcome for the individual, family, or community. Other terms used to describe this practice include sexual orientation change effort (SOCE), reparative therapy, reintegrative therapy, reorientation therapy, ex-gay therapy, and gay cure. Conversion therapy is practiced in every region of the world. We have identified sources confirming or indicating that conversion therapy is performed in over 60 countries. In those countries where it is performed, a wide and variable range of practices are believed to create change in an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Some examples of these include: talk therapy or psychotherapy (e.g., exploring life events to identify the cause); group therapy; medication (including anti-psychotics, anti- depressants, anti-anxiety, and psychoactive drugs, and hormone injections); Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (where an individual focuses on a traumatic memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation); electroshock or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (where electrodes are attached to the head and electric current is passed between them to induce seizure); aversive treatments (including electric shock to the hands and/or genitals or nausea-inducing medication administered with presentation of homoerotic stimuli); exorcism or ritual cleansing (e.g., beating the individual with a broomstick while reading holy verses or burning the individual's head, back, and palms); force-feeding or food deprivation; forced nudity; behavioural conditioning (e.g., being forced to dress or walk in a particular way); isolation (sometimes for long periods of time, which may include solitary confinement or being kept from interacting with the outside world); verbal abuse; humiliation; hypnosis; hospital confinement; beatings; and "corrective" rape. Conversion therapy appears to be performed widely by health professionals, including medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, sexologists, and therapists. It is also conducted by spiritual leaders, religious practitioners, traditional healers, and community or family members. Conversion therapy is undertaken both in contexts under state control, e.g., hospitals, schools, and juvenile detention facilities, as well as in private settings like homes, religious institutions, or youth camps and retreats. In some countries, conversion therapy is imposed by the order or instructions of public officials, judges, or the police. The practice is undertaken with both adults and minors who may be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or gender diverse. Parents are also known to send their children back to their country of origin to receive it. The practice supports the belief that non-heterosexual orientations are deviations from the norm, reflecting a disease, disorder, or sin. The practitioner conveys the message that heterosexuality is the normal and healthy sexual orientation and gender identity. The purpose of this medico-legal statement is to provide legal experts, adjudicators, health care professionals, and policy makers, among others, with an understanding of: 1) the lack of medical and scientific validity of conversion therapy; 2) the likely physical and psychological consequences of undergoing conversion therapy; and 3) whether, based on these effects, conversion therapy constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture when individuals are subjected to it forcibly2 or without their consent. This medico-legal statement also addresses the responsibility of states in regulating this practice, the ethical implications of offering or performing it, and the role that health professionals and medical and mental health organisations should play with regards to this practice. Definitions of conversion therapy vary. Some include any attempt to change, suppress, or divert an individual's sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This medico-legal statement only addresses those practices that practitioners believe can effect a genuine change in an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity. Acts of physical and psychological violence or discrimination that aim solely to inflict pain and suffering or punish individuals due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, are not addressed, but are wholly condemned. This medico-legal statement follows along the lines of our previous publications on Anal Examinations in Cases of Alleged Homosexuality1 and on Forced Virginity Testing.2 In those statements, we opposed attempts to minimise the severity of physical and psychological pain and suffering caused by these examinations by qualifying them as medical in nature. There is no medical justification for inflicting on individuals torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. In addition, these statements reaffirmed that health professionals should take no role in attempting to control sexuality and knowingly or unknowingly supporting state-sponsored policing and punishing of individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Verbal aversive control in clinical interaction / Control verbal aversivo en la interacción clínica

BACKGROUND: Aversive control techniques involve aversive stimuli to generate behavioral change. The purpose of this work is to analyze the use of verbal aversive control by psychologists during the clinical interaction, combining respondent and operant explanations. METHOD: observational methodology is used to analyze 26 session recordings of three different cases of anxiety disorder, relationship problem and low mood problem (27h 32') carried out by two psychologists of the Therapeutic Institute of Madrid. The variables considered were psychologists' aversive and non-aversive verbalizations and clients' antitherapeutic verbalizations. RESULTS: there is a strong relationship between clients' antitherapeutic verbalizations and psychologist's aversive verbalizations, both potential punishments (aversive verbalizations contingent on the client's response) and aversive pairings. Additionally, the possible psychologists' aversive verbalizations are accompanied by other verbalizations aimed to induce clients' non-problematic behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This work opens a new way to an explanation of therapeutic change using learning processes (both respondent and operant conditioning) that take place through verbal interaction in clinical context

ANTECEDENTES: el término control aversivo se refiere a las situaciones en las que se genera un cambio conductual mediante el uso de estímulos que provocan algún tipo de malestar. En este trabajo analizamos el uso de verbalizaciones aversivas por parte del terapeuta durante la interacción clínica, combinando explicaciones pavlovianas y operantes. MÉTODO: mediante metodología observacional se analizaron 26 grabaciones de tres casos de ansiedad, problemas de pareja y bajo estado de ánimo (27h 32') tratados por dos terapeutas del Instituto Terapéutico de Madrid. Las variables consideradas fueron las verbalizaciones aversivas y no aversivas del terapeuta y las verbalizaciones antiterapéuticas del cliente. RESULTADOS: hay una fuerte correlación entre las verbalizaciones antiterapéuticas de los clientes y las verbalizaciones aversivas del terapeuta, tanto en forma de potenciales castigos (verbalizaciones aversivas contingentes a la respuesta del cliente) como de emparejamientos aversivos. Además, se comprueba que el posible control aversivo que ejerce el terapeuta se acompaña de otras acciones verbales encaminadas a desarrollar comportamientos no problemáticos en los clientes. CONCLUSIONES: trabajo preliminar que abre una nueva vía a la explicación del cambio terapéutico a partir de los procesos de aprendizaje (pavlovianos y operantes) que ocurren durante la interacción verbal en el contexto clínico

Verbal aversive control in clinical interaction.

BACKGROUND: Aversive control techniques involve aversive stimuli to generate behavioral change. The purpose of this work is to analyze the use of verbal aversive control by psychologists during the clinical interaction, combining respondent and operant explanations. METHOD: Observational methodology is used to analyze 26 session recordings of three different cases of anxiety disorder, relationship problem and low mood problem (27h 32') carried out by two psychologists of the Therapeutic Institute of Madrid. The variables considered were psychologists' aversive and non-aversive verbalizations and clients' antitherapeutic verbalizations. RESULTS: There is a strong relationship between clients' antitherapeutic verbalizations and psychologists' aversive verbalizations, both potential punishments (aversive verbalizations contingent on the client's response) and aversive pairings. Additionally, the possible psychologists' aversive verbalizations are accompanied by other verbalizations aimed to induce clients' non-problematic behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: This work opens a new way to an explanation of therapeutic change using learning processes (both respondent and operant conditioning) that take place through verbal interaction in clinical context.

Calf aversion to hot-iron disbudding.

Dairy calves are routinely disbudded by cauterization with a hot iron. To mitigate the intra-operative and initial post-operative pain associated with this procedure some farmers provide calves general and local anesthetics, but it is unknown if the procedure remains aversive. We used a place-conditioning paradigm to assess aversion caused by hot-iron cautery with a local anesthetic compared to a sham procedure. A test area was divided into three equally sized pens: two 'treatment' pens with distinct visual cues were connected by a central 'neutral' pen. Each calf went through the disbudding procedure and a 6-h recovery period in one treatment pen and the control procedure in the other treatment pen. In three tests (48, 72 and 96 h after the second treatment), calves could freely roam among the pens until they chose to lie down, ending the session. Calves spent less time in either of the treatment pens compared to the central pen. When only comparing the two treatment pen, calves spent less time in the disbudding pen, especially during the first test. Calves were also less likely to lie down in the pen associated with the disbudding procedure. We conclude that even with the use of a local anesthetic, hot-iron disbudding is salient and aversive for calves, indicating the need to refine or avoid the procedure.

When should meta-analysis avoid making hidden normality assumptions?

Meta-analysis is a widely used statistical technique. The simplicity of the calculations required when performing conventional meta-analyses belies the parametric nature of the assumptions that justify them. In particular, the normal distribution is extensively, and often implicitly, assumed. Here, we review how the normal distribution is used in meta-analysis. We discuss when the normal distribution is likely to be adequate and also when it should be avoided. We discuss alternative and more advanced methods that make less use of the normal distribution. We conclude that statistical methods that make fewer normality assumptions should be considered more often in practice. In general, statisticians and applied analysts should understand the assumptions made by their statistical analyses. They should also be able to defend these assumptions. Our hope is that this article will foster a greater appreciation of the extent to which assumptions involving the normal distribution are made in statistical methods for meta-analysis. We also hope that this article will stimulate further discussion and methodological work.

Flood-conditioned place aversion as a novel non-pharmacological aversive learning procedure in mice.

The place conditioning paradigm is an efficient, widely-used method to study mechanisms that underlie appetitive or aversive learning and memory processes. However, pharmacological agents used to induce conditioned place preference (CPP) or aversion (CPA) can per se interfere with learning and memory processing, hence confounding the results. Therefore, non-pharmacological place conditioning procedures are of high importance. Here, we introduce a novel procedure for induction of CPA in mice, by water flooding. We found that pairing a context with immersion in moderately cold shallow water resulted in aversion and avoidance of that context during a place preference test. Importantly, place aversion emerged only when mice experienced the onset of flood during conditioning training, but not when mice were placed in a compartment pre-filled with water. We also found that warm water was not sufficiently aversive to induce CPA. Moreover, CPA was observed after two or three context-flood pairings but not after one or four pairings, suggesting that moderate conditioning intensity produces optimal CPA expression. Thus, flood-induced CPA is a simple, cheap, and efficient procedure to form and measure place aversion memories in mice, using an ethologically-relevant threat.

The putative catalytic role of higher serotonin bioavailability in the clinical response to exposure and response prevention in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Objective: Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is effective to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but the lack of tolerance to the aversion nature of exposure techniques results in a high drop-out rate. There have been reports of a generic stress endurance effect of serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system (CNS) which might be explained by suppression of defensive fixed action patterns. Previous studies have proposed that higher baseline 5-HT concentration and slow decrease in concentration during drug treatment of OCD were predictors of good clinical response to 5-HT reuptake inhibitors. The objective of this study was to investigate whether pre-treatment platelet rich plasma (PRP) 5-HT concentration is associated with latency of treatment response and final response to an ERP protocol for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Methods: Thirty adult and treatment-free OCD patients were included in an 8-week, 16-session ERP protocol. 5-HT concentration was determined at baseline and after treatment. Patients with a reduction ≥30% on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) at the end of ERP were defined as responders. Results: A positive correlation between baseline 5-HT concentration and reduction of symptoms on the Y-BOCS was observed after 4 weeks. Baseline 5-HT concentration was not correlated with clinical response after 8 weeks of ERP, possibly due to the similar though delayed clinical response of patients with lower (compared to those with higher) baseline 5-HT concentration. Patients with higher 5-HT baseline concentration also showed more improvement in depressive symptoms with treatment. Conclusion: The present results partially support the hypothesis of a stress endurance effect of 5-HT in OCD patients. According to the literature, fast onset responders possibly have more or larger 5-HT containing neurons, higher endogenous 5-HT synthesis or lower monoamine oxidase activity; all these hypotheses remain to be investigated.

The putative catalytic role of higher serotonin bioavailability in the clinical response to exposure and response prevention in obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE:: Exposure and response prevention (ERP) is effective to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but the lack of tolerance to the aversion nature of exposure techniques results in a high drop-out rate. There have been reports of a generic stress endurance effect of serotonin (5-HT) in the central nervous system (CNS) which might be explained by suppression of defensive fixed action patterns. Previous studies have proposed that higher baseline 5-HT concentration and slow decrease in concentration during drug treatment of OCD were predictors of good clinical response to 5-HT reuptake inhibitors. The objective of this study was to investigate whether pre-treatment platelet rich plasma (PRP) 5-HT concentration is associated with latency of treatment response and final response to an ERP protocol for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). METHODS:: Thirty adult and treatment-free OCD patients were included in an 8-week, 16-session ERP protocol. 5-HT concentration was determined at baseline and after treatment. Patients with a reduction ≥30% on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) at the end of ERP were defined as responders. RESULTS:: A positive correlation between baseline 5-HT concentration and reduction of symptoms on the Y-BOCS was observed after 4 weeks. Baseline 5-HT concentration was not correlated with clinical response after 8 weeks of ERP, possibly due to the similar though delayed clinical response of patients with lower (compared to those with higher) baseline 5-HT concentration. Patients with higher 5-HT baseline concentration also showed more improvement in depressive symptoms with treatment. CONCLUSION:: The present results partially support the hypothesis of a stress endurance effect of 5-HT in OCD patients. According to the literature, fast onset responders possibly have more or larger 5-HT containing neurons, higher endogenous 5-HT synthesis or lower monoamine oxidase activity; all these hypotheses remain to be investigated.

Smoking Cessation 1 Year or More: Experiences of Successful Quitters.

There is a paucity of research focused on the experience of maintaining cessation for a year or longer, and recidivism rates for smoking cessation are estimated at 50% to 97%. As cigarette smoking is one of the leading causes of death worldwide, there is a critical need for more knowledge about maintaining smoking cessation. Therefore, this study was undertaken to explore the lived experience of maintaining cigarette smoking cessation for a year or more. Using Streubert's nurse-developed descriptive phenomenological method, seven adults who sustained cessation for 1.5 to 18 years, after repeated relapses, were interviewed about their experience of sustaining cessation. Data collection included interviews, field notes, and a reflexive journal. Phenomenological analysis involved dwelling intensely with the data, extracting parts of the transcript, and identifying codes and themes, defined by Streubert as essences, common to all participants' descriptions of the experience of sustained cessation. Through this inductive process, the investigator ascertained relationships among the essences, forming the basis for a formalized, exhaustive description of the experience. Six essences captured participants' experiences of maintaining cigarette smoking cessation: (a) breaking free, (b) developing an olfactory aversion, (c) reframing, (d) learning through relapse, (e) reclaiming acceptance, and (f) self-transformation. The findings suggest that maintaining cessation for a year or more is shaped by biological, psychological, and social conditions, as reflected in the essences. The essences coalesced to a tipping point of motivation and conditions leading to sustained behavior change, allowing participants to maintain cessation.

Use of an explicit rule decreases procrastination in university students.

The procrastination behavior of students from a small rural university was decreased by presenting them with a rule indicating that a sooner final due date for a writing assignment would be contingent on procrastination during earlier phases of the paper. A counterbalanced AB BA design was used to measure the effects of the rule-based treatment across 2 introductory psychology classes (N = 33). Overall, participants engaged in less procrastination, missed fewer deadlines, and produced higher quality writing in the treatment condition.

Formation of aversive memories associated with conditioned drug withdrawal requires BDNF expression in the amygdala in acute morphine-dependent rats.

AIM: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays an important role in learning and memory in multiple brain areas. In the present study, we investigated the roles of BDNF in aversive memories associated with conditioned drug withdrawal in acute morphine-dependent rats. METHODS: Conditioned place aversion (CPA) was induced in male SD rats exposed to a single dose of morphine (10 mg/kg, sc) followed by naloxone (0.3 mg/kg, sc). In some rats, BDNF receptor antagonist K252a (8.5 ng per side) or BDNF scavenger TrkB-FC (0.65 µg per side) was bilaterally microinjected into amygdala before naloxone injection. BDNF mRNA and protein expression levels in amygdala were detected after the behavior testing. RESULTS: CPA behavior was induced in rats by the naloxone-precipitated morphine withdrawal, which was accompanied by significantly increased levels of BDNF mRNA and protein in the amygdala. Bilateral microinjection of TrkB-FC or K252a into the amygdala completely blocked CPA behavior in the rats. CONCLUSION: Formation of aversive memories associated with conditioned drug withdrawal in acute morphine-dependent rats requires BDNF expression in the amygdala.

Role of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis in the acquisition of contextual fear at long or short context-shock intervals.

Rats received N-methyl-D-aspartate lesions of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) and then 10 aversive conditioning trials in which exposure to a context was paired with footshock. For half the animals, shock was presented 1 min after the onset of each context exposure; for the other half, shock was presented after 10 min. With the 1-min context duration, aversive conditioning (measured by freezing) was unaffected by BNST lesion. In contrast, at the 10-min duration, lesioned animals froze substantially less than sham controls. When 1-min-conditioned animals were left in the context for 10 min, freezing that was evident (though declining) throughout the test was not affected by the BNST lesion. When freezing over 10 min was similarly examined in the 10-min-conditioned animals, BNST lesions caused a deficit that was consistently evident over time. The results indicate that the BNST is involved in aversive conditioning to long-duration, but not merely contextual, conditional stimuli. Results may be less consistent with the view that BNST becomes activated after prolonged fear than the view that it is involved when a cue's onset has a remote temporal relation to shock.

Harnessing the power of disgust: a randomized trial to reduce high-calorie food appeal through implicit priming.

BACKGROUND: In our increasingly obesogenic environment, in which high-calorie convenience foods are readily available, food choices can drastically affect weight and overall health. Learned food preferences, which are developed through repeated pairings with positively and negatively valenced stimuli, can contribute to obesity susceptibility if positive attitudes toward high-calorie foods are developed. Thus, the modification of automatic associations with food may be a viable strategy to promote healthier eating behaviors. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the ability of an implicit priming (IP) intervention to alter responses to visual food cues by using an evaluative conditioning approach. The main objective was to implicitly (i.e., below conscious perception) associate disgust with high-calorie foods with the aim of reducing liking of these foods. DESIGN: Participants were randomly assigned to active or control IP. In active IP (n = 22), high-calorie food images were implicitly primed with negatively valenced images, and low-calorie food images were implicitly primed with positively valenced images. In control IP (n = 20), all food images were primed with neutral images of fixation crosses. Food images were rated on the desire to eat immediately before and after IP. RESULTS: A significant main effect of calorie (high compared with low; P < 0.001) and a significant calorie-by-group (active compared with control) interaction (P = 0.025) were observed. Post hoc tests identified a significantly greater high-calorie rating decline after active IP than after control IP (P = 0.036). Furthermore, there was significantly greater change in high-calorie ratings than in low-calorie ratings in the active group (P = 0.001). Active IP effects extended to high-calorie foods not specifically included in the intervention, which suggested an effect generalization. Moreover, a greater change in high-calorie ratings than in low-calorie ratings persisted 3-5 d after active IP (P < 0.007), which suggested lasting effects. CONCLUSION: This study provides initial evidence that IP can be used to alter high-calorie food preferences, which could promote healthier eating habits.

Striatal-enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase controls responses to aversive stimuli: implication for ethanol drinking.

The STriatal-Enriched protein tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP) is a brain-specific phosphatase whose dysregulation in expression and/or activity is associated with several neuropsychiatric disorders. We recently showed that long-term excessive consumption of ethanol induces a sustained inhibition of STEP activity in the dorsomedial striatum (DMS) of mice. We further showed that down-regulation of STEP expression in the DMS, and not in the adjacent dorsolateral striatum, increases ethanol intake, suggesting that the inactivation of STEP in the DMS contributes to the development of ethanol drinking behaviors. Here, we compared the consequence of global deletion of the STEP gene on voluntary ethanol intake to the consumption of an appetitive rewarding substance (saccharin) or an aversive solution (quinine or denatonium). Whereas saccharin intake was similar in STEP knockout (KO) and wild type (WT) littermate mice, the consumption of ethanol as well as quinine and denatonium was increased in STEP KO mice. These results suggested that the aversive taste of these substances was masked upon deletion of the STEP gene. We therefore hypothesized that STEP contributes to the physiological avoidance towards aversive stimuli. To further test this hypothesis, we measured the responses of STEP KO and WT mice to lithium-induced conditioned place aversion (CPA) and found that whereas WT mice developed lithium place aversion, STEP KO mice did not. In contrast, conditioned place preference (CPP) to ethanol was similar in both genotypes. Together, our results indicate that STEP contributes, at least in part, to the protection against the ingestion of aversive agents.