Modulation of food and water intake by catecholamines injected into the lateral ventricle of the pigeon brain

ABSTRACT

The effects of noradrenaline, adrenaline and dopamine on food and water intake were investigated in satiated (food ad libitum) adult pigeons weighing 320-360 g (N+10 per group). Catecholamines (80 nmol in 1 ul of saline) were injected into the right lateral ventricle. A significant increase in food consumption during the first hour was induced only by noradrenaline (8.1 ñ 1.8 g) and adrenaline (8.0 ñ 2.7 g) vs 1.9 ñ 0.6 g for the saline control. Noradrenaline also caused a significant drop during the secondar hour (1.7 ñ 0.6 g for the saline control). Dopamine decreased food intake at 2 h (1.4 ñ 0.3 g vs 3.5 ñ 0.7 g for the saline control) and 3 h (1.4 ñ 0.4 g vs 3.2 ñ 0.7 g for the saline control) post-injection, with a subsequent elevation in the feeding response during the 4th h (4.9 ñ 0.9 g vs 2.6 ñ 0.7 gf for the saline control). The total food ingestion for the 6-h period was similar for the control and experimental groups. Water consumption was not significantly affected by any catecholamine during any specific period but total ingestion was increased by noradrenaline (44.7 ñ 3.0 ml vs 29.6 ñ 5.1 ml for the saline control). These results suggest that catecholamines are involved in the neural control of food, but not water, intake in pigeons