Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-02T22:55:25.125Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of food related cues on the specificity of appetite in the rat

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 November 2021

J. E. L. Day ,
P. J. Rogers ,
G. M. Finch  and
E. A. Gaffan
J. E. L. Day
Affiliation:
Institute of Food Research, Reading Laboratory, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6BZ, UK
P. J. Rogers
Affiliation:
Institute of Food Research, Reading Laboratory, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6BZ, UK
G. M. Finch
Affiliation:
Institute of Food Research, Reading Laboratory, Earley Gate, Reading, RG6 6BZ, UK
E. A. Gaffan
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AL, UK
Get access

Extract

It is known that if rats learn that a cue reliably precedes eating, its presentation can cause them to initiate a feeding bout when they are apparently sated (Weingarten, 1983, 1985). However, it is currently unclear precisely how such conditioned cues affect appetite. For example, does this type of conditioning elicit food specific appetites or do individuals merely experience a general increase in feeding motivation (Mela & Rogers, 1998)? To address this issue, the present experiment investigated the hypothesis that exposure to a cue (conditioned stimulus: CS) previously paired with a specific food biases diet selection in favour of that food when an individual is given a choice. The objective of the experiment was to enhance our understanding of the behavioural control of feeding, and hence our ability to predict diet selection and food intake.

The experimental subjects were 12 male Lister-hooded rats (initial body-weight 233; SD=20g). Throughout the experiment the subjects were maintained on a 1lh:13h light:dark cycle with lights on at 0700h, and had ad libitum access to a standard laboratory diet during the light phase.

Type
Programme
Information
Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science , Volume 1998 , 1998 , pp. 29
Copyright
Copyright © The British Society of Animal Science 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Mela, D. & Rogers, P. J. (1988). Food Eating and Obesity: The psychobiological basis of appetite and weight control. London: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Weingarten, H. P. (1983). Conditioned cues elicit feeding in sated rats: a role for learning in meal initiation. Science 220: 431–433.10.1126/science.6836286CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weingarten, H. P. (1985). Stimulus control of eating: implications for a two factor theory of hunger. Appetite 6: 387–401.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed