Gnawing is the preferred consummatory behavior initially induced by tail pinch

Recently, Rowland and Marques have hypothesized that the predominant effect of mild tail pinch may be the motor act of biting with eating being incidental. In this study we show that rats prefer a “gnawable” substrate to ground laboratory chow, strongly suggesting that the primary acute effect of tail pinch is biting. We also showed that tail pinch behavior can be blocked by local application of xylocaine.