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Limits of entrainment to periodic feeding in rats with suprachiasmatic lesions

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Summary

  1. 1.

    Rats with lesions of the suprachiasmatic nucleus were maintained in constant darkness and exposed to restricted feeding at periods of 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27, 29, 31, and 33 h. The limits of entrainment of activity in anticipation of food availability were studied.

  2. 2.

    Twelve out of 16 rats failed to show a circadian rhythm in activity in ad lib. feeding conditions.

  3. 3.

    Almost all rats entrained to the 24 h feeding schedule. A change from 24 to 22 or to 31 h did not consistently produce entrainment. However, a gradual increase in the period of the schedule resulted in some entrainment to the 31 and even 33 h schedule. All rats except one entrained to schedules between 23 and 29 h.

  4. 4.

    Near the limits of entrainment, activity rhythms often free ran at periods deviating considerably from the period of the feeding schedule.

  5. 5.

    In ad lib. conditions, after prolonged exposure to feeding schedules, activity rhythms persisted only in a few cases. However, during total food deprivation activity rhythms continued for at least 2 cycles.

  6. 6.

    These results indicate that circadian pacemakers outside the suprachiasmatic nucleus are entrainable by feeding, and that there are some similarities between the entrainment of circadian rhythms by light-dark cycles and by food

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Abbreviations

SCN :

suprachiasmatic nuclei

PRC :

phase response curve

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Florida State University, 32306, Tallahassee, Florida, USA

    Friedrich K. Stephan

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  1. Friedrich K. Stephan
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Additional information

This research was supported by Grant No. BNS-78-24999 from the National Science Foundation. The assistance of Ann Robbins and James Donaldson with the performance and analysis of this study is gratefully acknowledged.

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Stephan, F.K. Limits of entrainment to periodic feeding in rats with suprachiasmatic lesions. J. Comp. Physiol. 143, 401–410 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00609906

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