Possible Interaction between the Effects of Stress and Deprivation on Eating Behavior in Rats

摘要

The present study investigates whether the exposure to acute or chronic foot-shocks and the possibility of escape of them differentially affect food and water intake in rats deprived of water or both food and water in females and males rats. The rats were deprived of water 23.5 hours a day (partial deprivation) or for three consecutive days of food and water (total deprivation) and after to baseline condition they were exposed to acute (60 for two days) or chronic (10 for 12 days) escapable or inescapable electric shocks. The subjects exposed to acute and chronic shocks reduced food and water intake when the deprivation was partial and water was available in the stress context, that is, in the chamber where shocks occurred. However, when the animals were total deprived, no stress-induced reduction of food and water intake was observed, suggesting that level of deprivation was a crucial variable. Additionally, a slight difference between escapable or inescapable shocks was suggested, but results are not clear.