EFFECT OF d-AMPHETAMINE ON GASTRIC HUNGER CONTRACTIONS AND FOOD INTAKE IN THE DOG

Abstract

D-Amphetamine sulfate produced a transient depression or abolition of gastric hunger contractions in intact dogs when administered subcut. This inhibition of gastric motility could not be the sole or most important factor in the depression of food intake caused by amphetamine because a) after full recovery of the gastric contractions, food intake is still much depressed, b) with small doses of d-amphetamine sulfate, significant depression of food intake may occur without any depression of gastric motor activity, and c) in animals with vagotomized pouches of the entire stomach, d-amphetamine sulfate causes no suppression of the gastric contractions, even when large doses are given, but the characteristic depression of food intake is still observed. The implications of these findings for the general theory of hunger and appetite are discussed.