Food Intake Measurement
Objective: Measuring DAMGO-induced increases in eating behavior and food intake across different regions of the medial shell of the nucleus accumbens, and mapping the relationship between opioid-enhanced hedonic impact and food intake stimulation
This is a Food Intake Measurement protocol using rat as the model organism. The procedure involves 6 procedural steps, 1 equipment items, 3 materials. Extracted from a 2005 paper published in Journal of Neuroscience.
Model and subjects
rat • Not specified • unknown • Not specified • Not specified
Study window
Estimated timing pending
Core workflow
Functional mapping procedure setup • DAMGO microinjection • Measure affective orofacial reactions to sucrose
Primary readouts
- Affective orofacial reactions of liking/disliking to sucrose
- Affective orofacial reactions of liking/disliking to quinine
- DAMGO-induced increases in eating behavior
- DAMGO-induced increases in food intake
Key equipment and reagents
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Protocol Steps
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Functional mapping procedure setup
Establish functional mapping procedure based on microinjection Fos plumes to localize opioid substrates in the medial shell of nucleus accumbens
Note: Procedure designed to identify sites causing enhanced liking reactions and stimulating food intake
View evidence from paper
“used a functional mapping procedure based on microinjection Fos plumes to localize opioid substrates in the medial shell”
DAMGO microinjection
Perform DAMGO microinjections into different regions of the medial shell of nucleus accumbens in rats
Note: Microinjections targeted to map both hedonic impact and food intake effects across medial shell regions
View evidence from paper
“d-Ala2-N-Me-Phe4-Glycol5-enkephalin (DAMGO) microinjections in rats”
Measure affective orofacial reactions to sucrose
Map changes in affective orofacial reactions of liking/disliking elicited by sucrose taste after DAMGO microinjection
Note: Sucrose used as sweet taste stimulus to measure hedonic impact
View evidence from paper
“mapped changes in affective orofacial reactions of liking/disliking elicited by sucrose or quinine tastes after DAMGO microinjections”
Measure affective orofacial reactions to quinine
Map changes in affective orofacial reactions of liking/disliking elicited by quinine taste after DAMGO microinjection
Note: Quinine used as bitter taste stimulus for comparison
View evidence from paper
“mapped changes in affective orofacial reactions of liking/disliking elicited by sucrose or quinine tastes”
Measure food intake stimulation
Measure DAMGO-induced robust increases in eating behavior and food intake at the same microinjection sites
Note: Food intake measured across all regions of medial shell to compare with hedonic impact localization
View evidence from paper
“all regions of the medial shell generated DAMGO-induced robust increases in eating behavior and food intake”
Compare hedonic increases to food intake
Compare opioid-induced increases in sucrose hedonic impact to food intake stimulated at the same sites
Note: Analysis reveals distinction between opioid mechanisms of food intake and hedonic impact
View evidence from paper
“compared hedonic increases to food intake stimulated at the same sites”