title: Effects of feeding and drinking on acetylcholine release in the nucleus accumbens, striatum, and hippocampus of freely behaving rats.
abstract: Extracellular levels of acetylcholine (ACh) were measured in the nucleus accumbens (NAC), striatum (STR), and hippocampus (HIPP) using microdialysis in 30-min intervals before, during, and after free-feeding in 20-h food-deprived rats. The effects on ACh in the NAC and STR were also observed in response to water intake in 20-h water-deprived animals. Neostigmine was used in the perfusate to improve ACh recovery. Basal ACh was sensitive to tetrodotoxin and low calcium, and therefore largely neuronal in origin. Feeding caused a 38% increase in extracellular ACh in the NAC and no change in the STR or HIPP. Dopamine was also increased in the NAC (48%) and to a lesser extent in the STR (21%) following feeding. Drinking caused 18-20% increases in ACh release in both the NAC and STR. In a separate experiment, ACh release in the NAC was monitored in 10-min intervals during free-feeding; ACh increased in the interval immediately following maximal food intake. These results suggest a site-specific increase in ACh release following feeding that cannot be solely attributed to the activation associated with this behavior.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Princeton University, NJ 08544-1010.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Mark
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rada
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pothos
authors.forename: B G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Hoebel
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism*; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D004326:Drinking / Q000502:physiology*; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D009388:Neostigmine / Q000494:pharmacology; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D009388:Neostigmine; D000109:Acetylcholine; D004298:Dopamine