Tonic serotonergic control of ingestive behaviours in the pigeon (Columba livia): the role of the arcopallium.

This study examined the acute changes in feeding and drinking behaviours of free-feeding and free-drinking pigeons, in response to local injections of metergoline (MET, 5-HT(1/2) receptor antagonist; 7 and 20 nmol), GR46611 (GR, 5-HT(1B/1D) agonist; 2 and 6 nmol) or vehicle, into two components of the arcopallium: the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala (TnA) and the arcopallium intermedium (AI). In the TnA, the highest MET dose elicited a short-lived hyperphagy, without affecting drinking or non-ingestive behaviours during the first hour after injection. In contrast, all MET doses promptly increased drinking when injected in the AI, without affecting feeding; this effect was still evident 3 and 24 h after the treatment. When injected in the TnA, the highest GR dose promptly increased both food and water intake; these effects persisted 24 h after the treatments. GR injections in the AI evoked long-lasting increases in drinking, but not in feeding. Injections of these drugs into other arcopallial nuclei evoked no significant ingestive effects. These data indicate the presence of a tonic inhibitory influence of serotonergic inputs, partially mediated by 5-HT(1B/1D) receptors, on feeding- and drinking-related TnA circuits and on mechanisms controlling drinking in the AI. Compared to data from the rodent medial amygdala, our results suggest that a tonic inhibitory 5-HTergic control of feeding (but not drinking) behaviour, mediated by 5-HT(1/2) receptors and exerted in the medial amygdaloid area, may represent a broadly conserved functional attribute in the amniote brain, but probably involves many important taxa-specific neural mechanisms.

Feeding behavior after metergoline or GR-46611 injections into the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus in the pigeon.

The present study examined changes in spontaneous behavior of free-feeding pigeons in response to local injections of metergoline (MET, an antagonist of 5-HT(1/2) receptors; 5, 10 and 20 nmol), GR-46611 (GR, a 5-HT(1B/1D) agonist; 0.6 and 6 nmol) or vehicle into the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus (PVN). When infused into the PVN, MET and GR promptly and reliably elicited feeding at their higher doses, without affecting drinking or non-ingestive behaviors (locomotion, exploration, preening, sleep) during the first hour after injection. Both GR- and MET-evoked ingestive responses were associated only with an increase in feeding duration, with no changes in latency to start feeding. In a second series of experiments, the effective doses of MET (20 nmol) and GR (6 nmol) were injected into other diencephalic areas. This exploratory study revealed that intense feeding responses to both MET and GR local injections are also observed in the n. medialis hypothalami posterioris and in the adjacent n. lateralis hypothalami posterioris (PMH/PLH complex, in the caudoventral hypothalamus) and in the n. magnocellularis preopticus (PPM, in the caudal preoptic region). The behavioral profiles associated with these hyperphagic responses were nucleus-specific: in the PMH/PLH, MET-induced feeding was accompanied by an increase in total feeding duration and by a reduction in the latency to start feeding, while ingestive responses evoked by MET in the PPM were associated only with an increase in feeding duration (similar to that observed in the PVN experiments). No ingestive effects were observed after intracerebroventricular (ICV, lateral ventricle) injections of MET (10, 30, 100 or 300 nmol), while ICV injections of GR (3, 15 or 30 nmol) increased feeding only at the higher dose [Da Silva RA, De Oliveira ST, Hackl LPN, Spilere CI, Faria MS, Marino-Neto J, Paschoalini MA. Ingestive behaviors and metabolic fuels after central injections of 5-HT1A and 5-HT1D/1B receptors agonists in the pigeon. Brain Res, 2004;1026:275-283]. These data indicate the presence of a tonic inhibitory influence on feeding behavior exerted by 5-HT afferents on these hypothalamic areas, and suggest that these inputs, possibly mediated by non-rodent-type 5-HT1D/1B receptors, can affect both satiety and satiation mechanisms.