Feeding inhibition by urocortin in the rat hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Ventricular administration of urocortin (UCN) inhibits feeding, but specific site(s) of UCN action are unknown. In the current studies we examined the effect of UCN in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) on feeding. We tested UCN administered into the PVN in several paradigms: deprivation-induced, nocturnal, and neuropeptide Y (NPY)-induced feeding. We compared the effect of equimolar doses of UCN and corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) on NPY-induced and nocturnal feeding, determined whether UCN in the PVN produced a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) and induced changes in c-Fos immunoreactivity (c-Fos-ir) after UCN and NPY administration in the PVN. UCN in the PVN significantly decreased NPY and nocturnal and deprivation-induced feeding at doses of 1, 10, and 100 pmol, respectively. UCN anorectic effects lasted longer than those attributed to CRH. Ten and thirty picomoles UCN did not induce a CTA, whereas 100 pmol UCN produced a CTA. UCN (100 pmol) in the PVN neither increased c-Fos-ir in any brain region assayed nor altered c-Fos-ir patterns resulting from PVN NPY administration. These data suggest the hypothalamic PVN as a site of UCN action.

publication date

  • February 1, 2001

Research

keywords

  • Brain
  • Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone
  • Feeding Behavior
  • Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus

Identity

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 0034999479

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1152/ajpregu.2001.280.2.R473

PubMed ID

  • 11208577

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 280

issue

  • 2