In the current study, we searched for quantitative trait loci (QTL) responsible for a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) measured as a decrease in the intake of a saccharin conditioned stimulus followed by an i.p. injection of 0.15 M LiCl (lithium chloride) (2 ml/100 g body weight). A genome scanning for QTL associated with CTA was performed in the HXB/BXH sets of recombinant inbred (RI) strains derived from the Brown Norway (BN-Lx) rat and the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). The BN-Lx progenitor showed a significantly stronger CTA (8.3 ± 2.8%) than the SHR progenitor (27.8 ± 3.3%, p < .0001).="" the="" distribution="" of="" cta="" values="" among="" ri="" strains="" was="" continuous,="" suggesting="" a="" polygenic="" mode="" of="" inheritance.="" genome="" scanning="" of="" ri="" strains="" with="" more="" than="" 700="" gene="" markers="" revealed="" a="" significant="" association="" of="" cta="" with="" the="" d2cebr11s4="" marker="" on="" chromosome="" 2="" (lrs="22.7)" and="" with="" the="" d4cebrp149s8="" marker="" on="" chromosome="" 4="" (lrs="23.4)." the="" chromosome="" 2="" putative="" qtl="" was="" confirmed="" by="" detecting="" a="" significant="" difference="" in="" cta="" between="" the="" shr="" progenitor="" (27.8="" ±="" 3.3%)="" and="" the="" shr-2="" (shr.bn-d2rat171/d2arb24)="" congenic="" strain="" (13.1="" ±="" 4.4%,="">p < .01)="" that="" are="" genetically="" identical="" except="" for="" a="" segment="" of="" chromosome="" 2="" that="" was="" transferred="" onto="" the="" genetic="" background="" of="" the="" shr="" from="" the="" bn="">