FOOD DEPRIVATION VS INTRAVENTRICULAR ADRENALINE-INDUCED FEEDING AND POSTPRANDIAL BEHAVIORS IN THE PIGEON (COLUMBA-LIVIA)

The present study was designed to investigate possible similarities between the feeding and postprandial behavioral profile observed after different periods of food deprivation and after intracerebroventricular (ICV) injections of adrenaline (A) (30 nmol/mu 1) in satiated pigeons (Columba livia). The results indicate that the postprandial sleep-like behavior increases observed after A treatment are similar only to those observed after prolonged periods of fasting. These parallel behavioral effects are discussed as representing the product of similar levels of satiety signals, obtained after equivalent signaling of challenges to energy homeostasis, in both 96-h deprived and A-treated animals. Our data may also suggest that ICV A injections evoke a central state comparable to that of prolonged fasting, and that this neurotransmitter may participate as a chemical mediator in the regulation of food intake in the pigeon.