Physiology & behavior
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Physiology & behavior · Aug 2008
ReviewRelationships between human thirst, hunger, drinking, and feeding.
There is a widely held view that hunger prompts feeding to ensure energy needs are met, while thirst cues drinking to address hydration requirements. However, recent changes in the nature of the food supply and eating patterns have raised questions about the functionality of these relationships with respect to maintaining energy balance. The increasing consumption of energy-yielding beverages and foods with diluted energy density, through the use of ingredients such as high-intensity sweeteners and fat replacers, poses new challenges to presumed homeostatic energy regulatory mechanisms. ⋯ Our data indicates that, due to a number of plausible factors, neither absolute values nor changes of hunger or thirst are strong predictors of energy intake. However, it is proposed that stable, high thirst facilitates drinking, and with the increased availability and use of energy-yielding beverages that have low satiety properties, can promote positive energy balance. There are marked individual differences in mean daily hunger and thirst ratings with unknown implications for energy balance.
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Physiology & behavior · Mar 2008
The orexigenic effect of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is influenced by sex and stage of the estrous cycle.
Recently, it was shown that the orexigenic effect of melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is attenuated by estradiol treatment in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. This suggests that female rats may be less responsive than male rats to the behavioral effects of MCH. To investigate this hypothesis, the effects of lateral ventricular infusions of MCH on food intake, water intake, meal patterns, and running wheel activity were examined in male and female rats. ⋯ To examine the influence of endogenous estradiol, food intake was monitored following MCH treatment in ovarian-intact, cycling rats. As predicted by our findings in OVX rats, the orexigenic effect of MCH was attenuated in estrous rats, relative to diestrous rats. We conclude that the female rat's reduced sensitivity to the orexigenic effect of MCH may contribute to sex- and estrous cycle-related differences in food intake.
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Physiology & behavior · Dec 2007
Behavioural, histological and cytokine responses during hyperalgesia induced by carrageenan injection in the rat tail.
We produced experimental inflammatory hyperalgesia by injecting carrageenan into the tail of Sprague-Dawley rats. We compared the rats' voluntary running wheel activity following carrageenan injection into the tail to that after carrageenan injection into the hind paw, the conventional site of inflammation, to identify whether the site of inflammatory-induced hyperalgesia altered voluntary activity. We also measured voluntary running before and after injection of carrageenan or saline into the tail or hind paw, and in separate groups of rats we measured the nociceptive response and the associated pro-inflammatory cytokine profiles following a carrageenan injection into the tail. ⋯ Both thermal and mechanical hyperalgesia were present after carrageenan injection into the tail (P<0.01, ANOVA). The hyperalgesia at the site coincided with significant increases in TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, IL-6 and CINC-1 tissue concentrations, peaking 6 h after carrageenan injection (P<0.01, ANOVA). We conclude that carrageenan injection into the tail produces inflammatory hyperalgesia with underlying pro-inflammatory cytokine release, but does not affect voluntary running wheel activity in rats.
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Physiology & behavior · Nov 2007
N-acetyl cysteine supplementation prevents impairment of spatial working memory functions in rats following exposure to hypobaric hypoxia.
Exposure to high altitude (HA), especially extreme altitude, is associated with impairment of cognitive functions including memory and increased oxidative stress. However, the underlying mechanisms involved are not well understood. It is hypothesized that HA induced oxidative stress may be one of the factors underlying hypoxia induced memory impairment. ⋯ Rats displayed significant deficits in spatial working memory, and increased oxidative stress along with decrease in antioxidant status on hypoxic exposure. Supplementation with NAC in hypoxia-exposed group improved spatial memory performance, and decreased oxidative stress. These findings indicate that hypoxic exposure is associated with increased oxidative stress, which may have caused memory deficit in rats exposed to simulated HA.
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Physiology & behavior · Sep 2007
Sleep and sleepiness in relation to stress and displaced work hours.
Sleep is an important factor in relation to accidents, long-term health and mortality. Our group has had a long-term commitment to research on sleep regulation and its consequences. Over the years we have demonstrated pronounced effects of night work on sleep and alertness, including electroencephalographically determined sleep during work. ⋯ Sleep is also clearly disturbed in patients on long-term sick leave for burnout or in non-patients with high burnout scores, in particular sleep fragmentation is increased and sleep efficiency and sleep stages 3 and 4 (SWS--deep sleep) decreased. The fragmentation in turn seems related to endocrine changes. Present work is focused on bringing this work together, connecting the links from stress to sleep to metabolic changes to disease and long-term sickness absence.