Source Paper
Alfonso Abizaid, Zhong-Wu Liu, Zane B. Andrews, Marya Shanabrough, Erzsebet Borok et al.
Journal of Clinical Investigation • 2006
The gut hormone ghrelin targets the brain to promote food intake and adiposity. The ghrelin receptor growth hormone secretagogue 1 receptor (GHSR) is present in hypothalamic centers controlling energy metabolism as well as in the ventral tegmental area (VTA), a region important for motivational aspects of multiple behaviors, including feeding. Here we show that in mice and rats, ghrelin bound to neurons of the VTA, where it triggered increased dopamine neuronal activity, synapse formation, and dopamine turnover in the nucleus accumbens in a GHSR-dependent manner. Direct VTA administration of ghrelin also triggered feeding, while intra-VTA delivery of a selective GHSR antagonist blocked the orexigenic effect of circulating ghrelin and blunted rebound feeding following fasting. In addition, ghrelin- and GHSR-deficient mice showed attenuated feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules. Taken together, these data suggest that the mesolimbic reward circuitry is targeted by peripheral ghrelin to influence physiological mechanisms related to feeding.
Objective: Measurement of food intake following direct VTA administration of ghrelin or GHSR antagonist to determine the role of ghrelin signaling in the ventral tegmental area on feeding behavior
This is a Feeding Behavior Assay protocol using mice and rats as the model organism. The procedure involves 8 procedural steps, 2 equipment items, 3 materials. Extracted from a 2006 paper published in Journal of Clinical Investigation.
Model and subjects
mice and rats • Not specified in provided text • unknown • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Surgical preparation for VTA injection • Administer ghrelin to VTA • Measure food intake following ghrelin administration
Primary readouts
Key equipment and reagents
Verified items
0
Direct vendor links
0
Use this page as an execution guide, then fall back to the source paper whenever you need exact exclusions, dosing details, or assay-specific caveats.
Confirm first
Use the page like this
Start here. The step list is optimized for running the experiment, with direct vendor links available inline when you need to source a cited item.
Prepare animals for stereotaxic injection into the ventral tegmental area
Note: Procedure performed in mice and rats
“Direct VTA administration of ghrelin also triggered feeding, while intra-VTA delivery of a selective GHSR antagonist”
Inject ghrelin directly into the ventral tegmental area of experimental animals
Note: Direct VTA administration triggers feeding behavior
“Direct VTA administration of ghrelin also triggered feeding”
Quantify the amount of food consumed by animals following VTA ghrelin injection
Note: Food intake is measured as outcome of ghrelin signaling in VTA
“Direct VTA administration of ghrelin also triggered feeding”
Inject selective GHSR antagonist directly into the ventral tegmental area
Note: Antagonist blocks orexigenic effects of circulating ghrelin
“intra-VTA delivery of a selective GHSR antagonist blocked the orexigenic effect of circulating ghrelin”
Quantify food consumption following VTA GHSR antagonist injection
Note: Measures ability of antagonist to block feeding responses
“intra-VTA delivery of a selective GHSR antagonist blocked the orexigenic effect of circulating ghrelin and blunted rebound feeding following fasting”
Measure food intake in animals subjected to fasting periods after GHSR antagonist administration
Note: GHSR antagonist blunts rebound feeding response after fasting
“intra-VTA delivery of a selective GHSR antagonist blocked the orexigenic effect of circulating ghrelin and blunted rebound feeding following fasting”
Measure feeding behavior in ghrelin-deficient mice under restricted feeding schedules
Note: Ghrelin-deficient mice show attenuated feeding responses to restricted feeding
“ghrelin- and GHSR-deficient mice showed attenuated feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules”
Measure feeding behavior in GHSR-deficient mice under restricted feeding schedules
Note: GHSR-deficient mice show attenuated feeding responses to restricted feeding
“ghrelin- and GHSR-deficient mice showed attenuated feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules”
This section explains what the experiment is doing, which readouts matter, what the data artifacts usually look like, and how the analysis should flow from raw capture to reported result.
Measurement of food intake following direct VTA administration of ghrelin or GHSR antagonist to determine the role of ghrelin signaling in the ventral tegmental area on feeding behavior
Objective
Measurement of food intake following direct VTA administration of ghrelin or GHSR antagonist to determine the role of ghrelin signaling in the ventral tegmental area on feeding behavior
Subjects
From papermice and rats • Not specified in provided text • unknown • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Cohort notes
From paperStudy included ghrelin-deficient and GHSR-deficient mice in addition to wild-type animals
Surgical preparation for VTA injection (Not specified in provided text)
Administer ghrelin to VTA (Not specified in provided text)
Measure food intake following ghrelin administration (Not specified in provided text)
Administer GHSR antagonist to VTA (Not specified in provided text)
Food intake following ghrelin administration
From paperNot specified in provided text
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Food intake following GHSR antagonist administration
From paperNot specified in provided text
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Rebound feeding following fasting with GHSR antagonist
From paperNot specified in provided text
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules in ghrelin-deficient mice
From paperNot specified in provided text
Artifact type
Endpoint measurements summarized by group or timepoint
Comparison focus
Compare endpoint magnitude between groups, timepoints, or both
Food intake following ghrelin administration
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Food intake following GHSR antagonist administration
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Rebound feeding following fasting with GHSR antagonist
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules in ghrelin-deficient mice
From paperRaw artifact
Per-sample or per-animal endpoint measurements collected during the experiment
Processed artifact
Structured table with cleaned measurements ready for comparison
Final reported form
Summary statistics and between-group or across-timepoint comparisons
Acquisition
Collect raw experimental outputs with enough metadata to preserve sample identity, condition, and timing.
Preprocessing / cleaning
Not specified in provided text
Scoring or quantification
Quantify the primary readouts for this experiment: Food intake following ghrelin administration; Food intake following GHSR antagonist administration; Rebound feeding following fasting with GHSR antagonist; Feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules in ghrelin-deficient mice.
Statistical comparison
Statistical method not yet structured for this page.
Reporting output
Report representative outputs alongside summary comparisons for Food intake following ghrelin administration, Food intake following GHSR antagonist administration, Rebound feeding following fasting with GHSR antagonist, Feeding responses to restricted feeding schedules in ghrelin-deficient mice.
Source links and direct wording from the methods section for validation and deeper review.
Citation
Alfonso Abizaid et al. (2006). Ghrelin modulates the activity and synaptic input organization of midbrain dopamine neurons while promoting appetite. Journal of Clinical Investigation
“”
“”
“”
“”
Direct vendor pages are linked from the protocol above. This section stays focused on the full comparison view and the prep checklist.
Gather these items before starting the experiment. Check off items as you prepare.
Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text • Not specified in provided text
Use this section as the page quality checkpoint. It keeps section navigation, evidence access, readiness, and verification meaning in one place.
Current status surfaces were computed from experiment data updated Feb 28, 2026.
Source access
Jump back into the original paper or the methods evidence section when you need exact wording, exclusions, or method-specific caveats.
This protocol has structured steps plus evidence quotes, and is ready for canonical sync.
Steps
8
Evidence Quotes
13
Protocol Items
5
Linked Products
0
Canonical Sync
Pending
What this means
The completeness score reflects how much structured protocol data is present: steps, methods evidence, listed materials, linked products, and paper provenance.
Computed from the current experiment record updated Feb 28, 2026.
Canonical Sync shows whether a ConductGraph-backed protocol is available for this experiment route right now. It is a sync-status signal, not a claim that every downstream vendor link or step detail is perfect.
Steps
8
Evidence
13
Specific Products
0/0
Canonical Sync
Pending
What this score means
The verification score reflects evidence coverage, subject detail, paper provenance, step depth, and whether linked products resolve to specific item pages instead of generic searches.
Computed from the current experiment record updated Feb 28, 2026.
A page can have structured steps and still need review when evidence is thin, product links are generic, or canonical protocol coverage is still pending.
What still needs work