Discipline: Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
Subcategory: Social Sciences/Psychology/Economics
Session: 3
Room: Exhibit Hall A
Esirioghene Emeje - University of Missouri-Columbia
Co-Author(s): Kennedy Duncan, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Jordan Petronella, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Ngozichukwu Ibe, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Leticia Rivera, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Kelsey Mason, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Courtney Gann,University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Melissa Tapia, University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO Matthew Will University of Missouri-Columbia, Columbia MO
Obesity has been a major health issue since the 1970s in the United States. According CDC the rate of obesity is at a continual rise, especially among women (38.3%) as opposed to men (34.3%). Moreover, rates are higher amongst females than males. The over consumption of sweets and/or fatty foods are one of the reasons for this disparity. As such, it is important to find ways to decrease intake of consuming foods that are palatable in nature. Research indicates that the sigma-1 receptor is involved in the rewarding as well as motivational processes for eating. Previous studies from our lab have treated male and female rats with PD144418, a sigma 1 antagonist, and have demonstrated that at the highest dose (10 umol/kg), PD144418 decreases one’s motivation to work for food, as it significantly reduces the number of active lever responses made. However, it was unknown whether PD144418 would have an influence on palatability driven feeding. To examine such effects, PD144418 was administered in conjunction with DAMGO, a mu-opioid agonist that has extensively been shown to increase palatability driven feeding and the motivation to work for food. Using a counterbalanced design, male and female rats (n=8/group) were administered each treatment group (saline + saline, saline + 3.16 umol PD144418, saline + 10 umol PD144418, DAMGO (0.5 μl) + saline, DAMGO (0.5 μl) + 3.16 umol PD144418, DAMGO (0.5 μl) + 10 umol PD144418). PD144418 or saline was administered 15 minutes prior the infusion of DAMGO (0.025μg/0.5 μl/side bilaterally) or saline into the NAcc for 93s. Testing on the PR schedule of reinforcement began immediately after infusions for 1 hour. There was one day between testing sessions, where animals will respond to the PR schedule of reinforcement, but no drugs will be administered. Analysis using a repeated-measures ANOVA revealed that PD144418 does suppresses the effects of palatability driven motivational effort to work for food in male and female rats. These results indicate that the effects of PD144418 on motivational effort to work for food are most likely not influenced by opioid systems.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): IMSD Program (National Institutes of Health)
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Matthew Will, willm@missouri.edu
Role: Handled rodents; facilitated in surgeries; Did daily checks; analyzed data