G. D. Petrovich*, B. Setlow, P.C. Holland, M. Gallagher. Soc. Neurosci Abstract (2001)

Sated rats consume more food in the presence of Pavlovian conditioned stimulus (CS), that was previously paired with food, compared to tests when no CS is presented. The CS potentiation of feeding is diminished by bilateral lesions of the basolateral amygdala (BLA). The goal of the present study was to delineate circuitry by which the BLA allows learned stimuli to modulate feeding behavior. The BLA can reach hypothalamic feeding circuitry via the lateral hypothalamus (LHA). Thus, we examined the role of the BLA-LHA system in the CS potentiation task, using an asymmetrical lesion method. Male Long-Evans rats received unilateral excitotoxic lesions of the BLA and LHA placed either ipsilaterally or contralaterally (which disconnects the BLA-LHA system in both hemispheres). After recovery, these animals, together with a sham-lesioned group, were given first-order pairings of a tone (CS+) with food. Another tone (CS-) was presented randomly. All groups acquired comparable conditioned responses to CS+, but not to CS-. During the food consumption test, sated control (sham and ipsilateral) rats ate more food pellets in the presence of CS+, compared to tests in the presence of CS-, while the sated contralateral animals ate the same amount in both tests. There was no difference in food consumption during the pre-testing period, between the groups. Our results demonstrate that the BLA and LHA form part of the circuitry that mediates cognitive modulation of feeding.

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