Changes in ingestive behaviors and body weight following intracranial application of 17 alpha-estradiol.
The present experiment was conducted to determine if central implants of 17 alpha-estradiol could influence food intake, water intake, and body weight in ovariectomized rats. A total of fifteen animals were fitted with bilateral guide cannulae in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and stimulated unilaterally with cholesterol and 17 alpha-estradiol in each side of the brain. Compared with cholesterol treatment, 17 alpha-estradiol implants in the PVN significantly lowered food intake and body weight but did not affect water intake. These findings indicate that the PVN is a brain region responsive to the effects of 17 alpha-estradiol on feeding behavior, and support the hypothesis that the effects of estrogens on ingestive and reproductive behaviors are organized separately within the brain.
Department of Psychology, Niagara University, NY 14109.
P C
PC
Butera
R J
RJ
Beikirch
D M
DM
Willard
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004326:Drinking / Q000187:drug effects; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology*; D004971:Estrus / Q000187:drug effects; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D010286:Paraventricular Hypothalamic Nucleus / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D011960:Receptors, Estrogen / Q000187:drug effects*
D011960:Receptors, Estrogen; D004958:Estradiol