ABSTRACT
A variety of neuropeptides has been reported to stimulate or inhibit feeding behavior in mammals but few studies have addressed the specific effects of neuropeptides on feeding behavior in ground squirrels. A shorter duration of the feeding response to galanin injection in comparison to that of neuropeptide Y (NPY) has been reported for direct hypothalamic microinjections of the neuropeptides in rats. If NPY and galanin play a physiological role in the regulation of food intake in ground squirrels, it would be expected that genes encoding the neuropeptides are expressed in the hypothalamus. The chapter summarizes the findings on the role of NPY and galanin in seasonal changes in energy balance of the goldenmantled ground squirrel Spermophilus saturatus. It addresses the hypothesis that the synthesis of neuropeptides in the hypothalamus that control feeding is subject to long-term regulatory influences that are independent of short-term regulation imposed by metabolic hormones.
