Daily presentation of regular food odor induces mild anticipatory activity in food-entrained rats

Breno Tercio Santos Carneiro*, Halan Dyego Batista Dias, Mario Andre Leocadio-Miguel, John Fontenele-Araujo

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Food entrainment is mainly characterized by increased locomotion before mealtime (i.e., Food Anticipatory Activity [FAA]) . the search for the physical substrate of the food-entrained oscillator (FEO) has been the focus of investigations, and recent evidence points to the involvement of several brain regions regulating FAA. In recent years, attention has been directed toward mechanisms of synchronization . the present study investigated whether daily stimulation with food odor induced FAA in Wistar rats. Three groups (Chow, Odor, and Arousal) were kept in a light- dark (LD) cycle of 14hr:10hr and were subjected to 10 days of ad libitum feeding followed by 19 days of food restriction, and then 2 days of food deprivation . the Chow group was fed twice daily at the 3rd and 12th hour of the light phase, Meal 1 and Meal 2, respectively . the Odor group received odor stimulation at Meal 1 and food at Meal 2 . the Arousal group was only aroused (opening and closing the cabinet) at Meal 1 and fed at Meal 2. All groups presented intense FAA to Meal 2 (food). For Meal 1, the Chow group showed intense FAA, Odor presented mild FAA, while the Arousal group did not present any FAA . these results indicate that daily stimulation with regular food odor is able to promote FAA behavior.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)317-327
Number of pages11
JournalPsychology and Neuroscience
Volume12
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2019
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Food anticipatory activity (FAA)
  • Food-entrained oscillator (FEO)
  • Odor
  • Olfactory

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