THE EFFECT OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION OF PROLACTIN ON FOOD-INTAKE IN VIRGIN FEMALE RATS IS DOSE-DEPENDENT, OCCURS IN THE ABSENCE OF OVARIAN HORMONES AND THE LATENCY TO ONSET VARIES WITH FEEDING REGIMEN

Citation
D. Sauve et B. Woodside, THE EFFECT OF CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION OF PROLACTIN ON FOOD-INTAKE IN VIRGIN FEMALE RATS IS DOSE-DEPENDENT, OCCURS IN THE ABSENCE OF OVARIAN HORMONES AND THE LATENCY TO ONSET VARIES WITH FEEDING REGIMEN, Brain research, 729(1), 1996, pp. 75-81
Citations number
39
Categorie Soggetti
Neurosciences
Journal title
ISSN journal
00068993
Volume
729
Issue
1
Year of publication
1996
Pages
75 - 81
Database
ISI
SICI code
0006-8993(1996)729:1<75:TEOCAO>2.0.ZU;2-3
Abstract
Lactation in mammals is characterized by a marked hyperphagia and sign ificantly elevated levels of prolactin (PRL). Several recent experimen ts in our laboratory have provided evidence for a causal relationship between PRL and hyperphagia. The present series of studies revealed th at PRL injected intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) twice daily for ten days to free feeding virgin female rats produced a dose-dependent inc rease in food intake without disrupting vaginal cyclicity, that the hy perphagic effect of centrally administered PRL was not dependent on th e presence of ovarian hormones, that it did not selectively potentiate feeding during the light or dark phase of the daily light cycle and t hat the latency of the feeding response to i.c.v. PRL administration w as shorter in food restricted animals. Taken together, these results s upport the idea that PRL acts centrally to potentiate food intake.