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Reduced accumbens dopamine in Sprague–Dawley rats prone to overeating a fat-rich diet
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Reduced accumbens dopamine in Sprague–Dawley rats prone to overeating a fat-rich diet

Pedro Rada, Miriam E. Bocarsly, Jessica R. Barson, Bartley G. Hoebel and Sarah F. Leibowitz
Physiology & behavior, v 101(3), pp 394-400
2010
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2010.07.005
PMID: 20643155
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://europepmc.org/articles/pmc2930885View
Accepted (AM)Open Access (License Unspecified),  Open

Abstract

Fat Intralipid Obesity-prone Obesity-resistant Rat Triglycerides
Obese humans and animals exhibit reduced functioning of the dopamine (DA) system in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The question addressed here is whether this change in NAc DA can be detected in Sprague–Dawley rats that are prone to obesity on a fat-rich diet but still at normal body weight. Rats were subgrouped as “obesity-prone” (OP) or “obesity-resistant” (OR), based on their weight gain during 5 days of access to a high-fat diet, and were then shifted to a lower-fat chow diet before microdialysis testing was performed. The OP rats compared to OR rats exhibited markedly reduced basal levels of DA in the NAc. After a high-fat challenge meal, both OP and OR rats showed a significant increase in extracellular DA and its metabolites; however, the NAc DA of the OP rats still remained at reduced levels. Also, the increase in DA and metabolite levels observed in OR rats after systemic administration of a fat emulsion was not evident in the OP rats, which instead showed no change in DA and a decrease in its metabolites. These results demonstrate, first, that fat can stimulate accumbal DA release and, second, that outbred rats prone to overeating and becoming obese on a palatable, fat-rich diet exhibit reduced signaling in the mesolimbic DA system while still at normal weight, suggesting that it may be causally related to their excess consummatory behavior. ►Rats prone to obesity show reduced levels of dopamine in the nucleus accumbens. ►Rats show increased levels of accumbal dopamine after ingestion of dietary fat. ►Rats prone to obesity have a reduced accumbal dopamine response to intake of fat. ►Obesity-prone rats have a reduced dopamine response to injection of a fat emulsion. ►Reduced dopamine in obesity-prone rats may lead them to over-consume dietary fat.

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106 citations in Web of Science
115 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Behavioral Sciences
Psychology, Biological
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