Behavioural structure and mechanisms of anorexia: calibration of natural and abnormal inhibition of eating

Analyzed the structure of behavior demonstrated by 7 male hooded Lister rats to distinguish between normal anorexia (natural development of satiation) and pathological anorexia brought about by intestinal discomfort (injection of LiCl) or adulteration of food (quinine added to diet). Each S was subjected to a control condition and 3 experimental conditions (prefeed of test food, LiCl, and quinine). Results indicate that treatments produced marked changes in parameters of feeding and in the frequencies of behaviors associated with eating. Both LiCl and quinine treatments gave rise to a slow rate of eating accompanied by a disordered temporal sequence of eating, grooming, and resting. It is suggested that this behavioral calibration of anorexia can contribute to the behavioral pharmacology of feeding by helping to diagnose drugs that facilitate normal processes of satiation and those that act via a nonspecific disruption of behavior. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)