title: Thirst.
abstract: Our bodies are mostly water, and this water is constantly being lost through evaporative and other means. Thus the evolution of robust mechanisms for finding and consuming water has been critical for the survival of most animals. In this Primer, we discuss how the brain monitors the water content of the body and then transforms that physical information into the motivation to drink.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Leib
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA.
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Zimmerman
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA. Electronic address: zachary.knight@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Zachary A
authors.initials: ZA
authors.lastname: Knight
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004326:Drinking / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013894:Thirst / Q000502:physiology*; D014882:Water-Electrolyte Balance / Q000502:physiology*