Decreased reactivity to sweetness following chronic exposure to mild unpredictable stress or acute administration of pimozide

doi:10.1016/S0149-7634(05)80193-9

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

Volume 16, Issue 4, 1992, Pages 519-524

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0149-7634(05)80193-9 Get rights and content

Consumption of a palatable wet mash was examined in rats subjected chronically (4–10 weeks) to unpredictable mild stress. Intake of mash containing 0, 10%, or 20% additional sucrose was normal in stressed animals. In control animals, the addition of 30% or 40% sucrose caused a decrease in the quantity of mash consumed, but increased the rate of eating. Both the increase in eating rate and the decrease in intake, at high sucrose concentration, were markedly attenuated in stressed animals (which therefore had higher intakes of very sweet mash and lower rates of eating, relative to control animals). Like chronic mild stress, the dopamine receptor antagonist pimozide (0.2 mg/kg) also increased the intake of a wet mash with 30% added sucrose, while decreasing the rate of consumption. Stressed animals were relatively insensitive to pimozide, though there were significant additive effects on duration of eating (increased) and on postprandial resting (suppressed). The failure of stressed animals to adapt their intake to increases in sweetness, and the similarities between the effects of chronic mild stress and acute pimozide, are compatible with the hypothesis that animals exposed to chronic mild stress are anhedonic.

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^*: Present address: Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Malta, Msida, Malta.

^†: Present address: Department of Anatomy, Downing St, Cambridge, U.K.

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ArticleDecreased reactivity to sweetness following chronic exposure to mild unpredictable stress or acute administration of pimozide

Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.

Physiol. Behav.

Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.

Europ. Neuropsychopharmacol.

Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.

Biol. Psychiatr.

Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

Brain Res.

Physiol. Behav.

Pharmacol. Biochem. Behav.

Cholecystokinin elicits the complete behavioral sequence of satiety in rats

J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol.

Quantifying palatability in humans

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.

Central neurotransmitter systems and the control of operant behaviour by “natural” positive reinforcers

Conditioned place preference as a measure of drug reward

The microstructure of ingestive behavior

Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci.

Assessing anhedonia in psychiatric patients. The pleasure scale

Arch. Gen. Psychiatr.

Effects of selective dopamine receptor antagonists on sucrose consumption and preference

Psychopharmacology

Article
Decreased reactivity to sweetness following chronic exposure to mild unpredictable stress or acute administration of pimozide