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The regulation of food intake in mammalian hibernators: a review

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Abstract

One of the most profound hallmarks of mammalian hibernation is the dramatic reduction in food intake during the winter months. Several species of hibernator completely cease food intake (aphagia) for nearly 7 months regardless of ambient temperature and in many cases, whether or not food is available to them. Food intake regulation has been studied in mammals that hibernate for over 50 years and still little is known about the physiological mechanisms that control this important behavior in hibernators. It is well known from lesion experiments in non-hibernators that the hypothalamus is the main brain region controlling food intake and therefore body mass. In hibernators, the regulation of food intake and body mass is presumably governed by a circannual rhythm since there is a clear seasonal rhythm to food intake: animals increase food intake in the summer and early autumn, food intake declines in autumn and actually ceases in winter in many species, and resumes again in spring as food becomes available in the environment. Changes in circulating hormones (e.g., leptin, insulin, and ghrelin), nutrients (glucose, and free fatty acids), and cellular enzymes such as AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) have been shown to determine the activity of neurons involved in the food intake pathway. Thus, it appears likely that the food intake pathway is controlled by a variety of inputs, but is also acted upon by upstream regulators that are presumably rhythmic in nature. Current research examining the molecular mechanisms and integration of environmental signals (e.g., temperature and light) with these molecular mechanisms will hopefully shed light on how animals can turn off food intake and survive without eating for months on end.

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Abbreviations

ACC:

Acetyl CoA carboxylase

AgRP:

Agouti-related protein

AMPK:

AMP-activated protein kinase

ARC:

Arcuate nucleus of hypothalamus

BBB:

Blood–brain barrier

CART:

Cocaine-amphetamine regulated transcript

FFAs:

Free fatty acids

GMGS:

Golden-mantled ground squirrel

NPY:

Neuropeptide Y

POMC:

Pro-opiomelanocortin

T a :

Ambient temperature

T b :

Body temperature

UCP:

Uncoupling protein

WAT:

White adipose tissue

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank Drs. Brian Barnes, Loren Buck and Hannah Carey for their feedback and discussion of ideas in this manuscript. We also thank the anonymous reviewers that helped us to clarify and strengthen the manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Gregory L. Florant

  2. Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix, 425 N. 5th St. Building ABC1, Phoenix, AZ, 85004, USA

    Jessica E. Healy

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Correspondence to Gregory L. Florant.

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Communicated by I.D. Hume.

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Florant, G.L., Healy, J.E. The regulation of food intake in mammalian hibernators: a review. J Comp Physiol B 182, 451–467 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-011-0630-y

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