Dynamics of body weight and food intake can be studied by temporally perturbing food availability. This perturbation can be obtained by modifying the amount of available food over time while keeping the overall food quantity constant. To describe food intake dynamics, we developed a mathematical model that describes body weight, fat mass, fat-free mass, energy expenditure and food intake dynami...

To elucidate the role of endogenous ghrelin in the regulation of energy homeostasis and gastric emptying, ghrelin knockout mice (ghrelin(-/-)) were generated. Body weight, food intake, respiratory quotient, and heat production (indirect calorimetry), and gastric emptying ((14)C breath test) were compared between ghrelin(+/+) and ghrelin(-/-) mice. In both strains, the effect of exogenous ghreli...

Melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) has recently been proposed as both a central stimulator and an inhibitor of food intake. To clarify its role, we investigated the effects of MCH and the prepro-MCH-derived peptide neuropeptide E-I injected intracerebroventricularly (icv) in rats. MCH (0.15-15 micrograms) was injected icv at the beginning of the light phase. Food intake at 2 h showed a dose-de...

We hypothesize that variations in dietary carbohydrate levels produce changes in glucosensor parameters in previously characterized glucosensing areas (hypothalamus and hindbrain) related with the regulation of food intake of a carnivorous fish species like rainbow trout. Therefore, we fed trout with standard, carbohydrate-free (CF) or high-carbohydrate (HC) diets for 10 days to assess changes ...

Because food intake is a function of meal number and meal size and because gender-related hormones are involved in feeding regulation, we explored effects of orchiectomy and testosterone replacement on the relationship between meal number and size and changes in resulting feeding patterns in adult male rats, randomized into orchiectomy and sham-operation groups. A rat eater meter measured feedi...

LEUNG, PHILIP M.-B., AND QUINTON R. ROGERS. Importance of prepyriform cortex in food-intake response of rats to amino acids. Am. J. Physiol. 221(3): 929-935. 197 1 .-Bilateral electrolytic lesions were placed in the prepyriform cortex of male 230to 250-g rats and their food intake as affected by amino acid imbalance, deficiency, and excessive protein was examined. All rats with such lesions and...

We investigated the role of the hypothalamic melanocortin system in the regulation of food intake in the Siberian hamster, which shows a profound seasonal decrease in food intake and body weight in short photoperiod (SP). In male hamsters maintained in long photoperiod (LP), intracerebroventricular injection of melanotan II (MTII) just before lights off significantly decreased food intake relat...

Obesity and lifestyle-related diseases are major problems faced by people in developed nations. Although exercise training prevents the progression of diabetes and obesity, the motivation for exercise is generally low in obese animals and humans. The autonomic nervous system (SNA) plays a crucial role in the regulation of eating behavior. Moreover, the SNA is involved in the body temperature re...

Leptin suppresses food intake and increases energy expenditure in the hypothalamus. Rats consume most of their daily food intake during the dark phase of the diurnal cycle. Lactating rats have increased food intake, but the involvement of leptin in the regulation of food intake in this physiological condition is not well understood. The present experiment was carried out to determine the circad...

We investigated the role of the hypothalamic melanocortin system in the regulation of food intake in the Siberian hamster which shows a profound seasonal decrease in food intake and body weight in short photoperiod (SP). In male hamsters maintained in long photoperiod (LP), icv injection of MTII just before lights off significantly decreased food intake relative to vehicle treatment over the 6 ...