Rats are nocturnal animals, their ingestive behaviours show circadian rhythms and the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the hypothalamus are the primary pacemaker of these rhythms. Serotonin (5-HT) is one of the most abundant neurotransmitter in the SCN and it is involved in the regulation of ingestive behaviour. In this study, we compared food and water intakes of male adult Wistar rats infused during 7 days with serotonin (2.5 nmol/24h) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the SCN in a three-way selection of macronutrients. Within 5-HT infusion, nocturnal and diurnal water intakes, and the nocturnal caloric intake from the protein diet were significantly lower than those of the CSF infused group. Decrease in water consumption was most significant in the early and middle dark phases. Besides, increased diurnal energy intake and decreased nocturnal energy intake were observed during 5-HT and CSF infusion. In conclusion, this first chronic and continuous infusion work on 5-HT in the SCN specifically disrupted the circadian rhythmicities in water and protein consumptions.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.22829 |
| Date | January 1995 |
| Creators | Wong, Chi Yan. |
| Contributors | Thibault, Louise (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001467868, proquestno: MM05653, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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