title: Influence of age and hepatic branch vagotomy on the night/day distribution of food intake in rats.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of age and hepatic branch vagotomy on the night/day distribution of food intake in male rats. Food intake of young (age: 2 months) and aged (age: 13.5 months) hepatic branch vagotomized (HBV) and sham-vagotomized (SV) rats was measured at intervals of 6 h during the 12 h dark and the 12 h light phase. The results show that in rats the night/day ratio of food intake decreases with age and is not affected by hepatic branch vagotomy. However, the time-course of spontaneous diurnal food intake was influenced by hepatic branch vagotomy. The change in the night/day distribution of food intake might be due to age-related changes in the nucleus suprachiasmaticus of the hypothalamus.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Veterinary Physiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Del Prete
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scharrer
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D008099:Liver / Q000294:innervation*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014628:Vagotomy