Structural analysis of the actions of amphetamine and fenfluramine on food intake and feeding behaviour in animals and in man

Abstract

SummaryThe drug pair of amphetamine and fenfluramine was used in a series of studies to investigate the mechanisms controlling food intake and the elements of feeding behaviour. In rats, the results of lesion experiments failed to reveal a brain zone whose destruction led to the attenuation of fenfluramine anorexia. In every case, however, the results dissociated the anorexic effects of amphetamine and fenfluramine, suggesting that the two drugs operate via separate anatomical systems and that they differentially influence the mechanism of the feeding process. The microstructure of eating in rats was analyzed using such parameters as latency to begin eating, bout size, bout duration, and the local rate of eating. Whereas amphetamine increased latency and the local rate of eating, fenfluramine failed to delay the onset of eating but slowed the rate of consumption and tended to bring eating to apremature end. The macrostructure of eating was continually monitored, using an eatometer, in freely-feeding rats....