Free-feeding and free-drinking patterns of male rats following treatment with opiate kappa agonists

Abstract

Three experiments investigated the effects of PD117302 and U50,488H on the patterns of food and water intake by male rats. Experiment 1 demonstrated early dose-related suppression of food and water intake after PD117302 (0, 1.25, 2.5, 5 mg/kg). The initial suppression of drinking was followed by a sustained increase 4–12 h after drug administration. Experiment 2 demonstrated that 2.5 mg/kg PD117302 failed to increase food intake whether given at the beginning of the night (high baseline food intake) or the beginning of the day (low baseline food intake). Experiment 3 showed that 0.5 mg/kg U50,488H significantly enhanced meal size but, at doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg, had no effect on overall food intake. U50,488H also produced delayed, dose-related increases in water intake. The results suggest kappa receptors may have limited importance in modulating ad lib food intake and demonstrate the behavioural characteristics of increased drinking after excessive urine output.