Effects of gastric loading on the sucking response and voluntary milk intake in neonatal piglets.

Abstract

Studied the effects of loading the stomach of piglets with 100 ml of milk after 6 hrs of fasting and immediately before allowing them access to the dam. Ss were a total of 77 piglets from the experimenting institute's herd. Results show Ss gained less weight and rested more often on preloaded days. This suggests that gastric receptors exist and signal distension of the stomach. Monitoring sucking responses to a rubber teat revealed that although preloading the stomach substantially reduced voluntary milk intake during the initial 10-min period of the test, the vigorous oral activity continued largely unabated. Isometric saline suppressed voluntary milk intake for a shorter period than milk or isotonic glucose solution. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)