Sodium appetite after transection of the chorda tympani nerve in Wistar and Fischer 344 rats.

Acute sodium depletion in rats leads to dramatic increases in intake of hypertonic NaCl solutions, a behavior known as sodium appetite. The importance of signals conveyed by the chorda tympani (ChT) nerve to the expression of sodium appetite is unclear. The effects of bilateral ChT transection were examined on the short- and long-term response to sodium depletion in Wistar and Fischer 344 (F344) rat strains, because Wistar rats normally display a NaCl preference in the absence of need whereas F344 rats avoid NaCl. In both strains, sodium appetite after ChT transection and treatment with the diuretic furosemide was delayed and blunted or eliminated. The results suggest that signals conveyed by the ChT nerve are important in the expression of a sodium appetite. Effects on F344 rats are particularly interesting because ChT transection surgery appears to have opposite effects on NaCl intake depending on whether F344 rats are sodium replete or deplete. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)