| Abstract: | Results of 2 experiments with 96 CFE female rats show that both ovariectomy and hypothalamic knife cuts produced hyperphagia and obesity in Ss. The ovarian obesity, however, unlike hypothalamic obesity, was virtually independent of diet palatability. Ovariectomized Ss became obese on quinine-adulterated diets which completely blocked hypothalamic obesity, and they displayed little further weight gain when given a high-fat diet which greatly potentiated hypothalamic obesity. Ovarian and hypothalamic obesity were also found to be additive irrespective of diet condition when both surgical treatments were combined in the same S; that is, ovariectomy increased the food intake and body weight of knife-cut Ss given the quinine or high-fat diet. In contrast to their dissimilar feeding effects, ovariectomy, hypothalamic cuts, and the combined surgeries did not differentially alter the aversion to a 0.01% quinine solution. Results indicate that ovarian obesity and hypothalamic obesity represent 2 different feeding disorders and are mediated by separate neural mechanisms. The functional nature of these disorders is discussed in light of recent body weight set point interpretations. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
