ABSTRACT
The 5–HT1A receptor agonist 8–OH–DPAT has been reported to elicit consumption of lab chow in non–deprived rats, over a wide range of doses between 15 and 300 μg/kg; at higher doses, feeding is displaced by the emergence of stereotyped behaviours (Dourish et al., 1985a,b; Bendotti et al., 1986). The orexic effect of low doses of 8–OH–DPAT appears to be mediated by a decrease in the release of 5–HT, brought about by a specific interaction with inhibitory presynaptic autoreceptors (Dourish et al., 1985a, b). In the present study, the effects of 8–OH–DPAT on the consumption of caloric or non–caloric liquid diets were examined, in order to assess the behavioural generality of 8–OH–DPAT induced hyperphagia.
