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Involvement of dopamine and opioids in the motivation to eat: influence of palatability, homeostatic state, and behavioral paradigms

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Abstract

Rationale

Motivation for food depends on several variables including food palatability, the homeostatic state of the organism, and the nature of the behavior required to obtain the reward. However, few studies to date have tried to evaluate motivation for food considering all these variables at the same time. Since dopamine and opioids have been deeply involved in the regulation of feeding, it is of interest to investigate their role considering all the mentioned variables.

Objectives

In this study, we evaluated the involvement of dopamine and endogenous opioids on food consumption and food motivation using behavioral paradigms that differ in the motor requirement to gain access to the reward, when food palatability and homeostatic state were taken into account.

Materials and methods

Pellets differentiated on palatability were offered to sated and restricted rats in consummatory tests and in different behavioral paradigms measuring motivational state, but requiring different motor outputs (runway and an operant progressive ratio 3 task). Peripheral injections of naloxone or flupenthixol were administered when these tasks were learned and stable.

Results

Naloxone decreased food intake when pellets were palatable, while flupenthixol was without any effect. When considering motivation, naloxone decreased performances in both the runway and progressive ratio tests while flupenthixol was only effective in the progressive ratio test.

Conclusions

Impairing the opioid neurotransmission diminishes motivation to obtain food, possibly through a decrease in the perceived palatability of the food reward. The dopaminergic system appears to be more involved in the modulation of motivation to obtain food in a cost/benefit-related manner.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Anne Fayoux and Stephane Lelgouach for animal care, Pierre Gonzalez for technical help, Marie-Hélène Bruyères for administrative work, as well as Nina Goyard, Nadira Rahab Ghenimi, and Gladys Meril for helpful assistance with the behavioral experiments. The authors are also grateful to Dr. Kelly Clemens for English correction and critical reading of the manuscript. MF Barbano was supported by a BDI-PED grant from the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). This work was supported by the University of Bordeaux 2, the CNRS, the Conseil Régional d’Aquitaine, and the Action de Cooperation Scientifique Ecos-Sud A01S03.

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  1. M. Flavia Barbano

    Present address: Instituto de Investigaciones Biotecnológicas, Universidad de General San Martín, INTI-Colectora Av.General Paz 5445, Edificio 24, Casilla de correos 30 - CP 1650, San Martin, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Group « Neuropsychopharmacologie de l’addiction », Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Unité Mixte de Recherche 5227, Universités Bordeaux 2 et Bordeaux 1, 146, rue Léo Saignat - BP 31, 33076, Bordeaux Cedex, France

    M. Flavia Barbano, Maryvonne Le Saux & Martine Cador

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  1. M. Flavia Barbano
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  2. Maryvonne Le Saux
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Correspondence to M. Flavia Barbano.

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Barbano, M.F., Le Saux, M. & Cador, M. Involvement of dopamine and opioids in the motivation to eat: influence of palatability, homeostatic state, and behavioral paradigms. Psychopharmacology 203, 475–487 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1390-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-008-1390-6

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