Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

The effect of chronic food and water restriction on open-field behaviour and serum corticosterone levels in rats.

K M Heiderstadt1, R M McLaughlin, D C Wright

  • 1Office of Laboratory Animal Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, USA.

Laboratory Animals
|April 12, 2000
PubMed
Summary

Food restriction in rats causes behavioral changes and physiological stress, indicated by elevated corticosterone. However, adjusting feeding to maintain 80% of control rat weight eliminates these stress indicators.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Neuronal activation in the axolotl brain promotes tail regeneration.

NPJ Regenerative medicine·2025
Same author

Sall4 regulates downstream patterning genes during limb regeneration.

Developmental biology·2024
Same author

Extreme seasonal water-level changes and hydraulic modeling of deep, high-altitude, glacial-carved, Himalayan lakes.

Scientific reports·2023
Same author

Barriers to Using UAVs in Conservation and Environmental Management: A Systematic Review.

Environmental management·2022
Same author

Expanded Range of Cylindrocladium colhounii in the United States.

Plant disease·2019
Same author

First U.S. Report of Pseudocercospora paederiae Leaf Spot on the Invasive Exotic Paederia foetida.

Plant disease·2019

Area of Science:

  • Animal behavior
  • Neuroscience
  • Physiology

Background:

  • Operant conditioning commonly uses food or water restriction to motivate rats.
  • Limited data exists on the non-operant behavioral and physiological effects of these restrictions.
  • Potential for chronic stress, indicated by serum corticosterone, is unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the behavioral and physiological effects of food and water restriction in rats.
  • To determine if these methods induce physiological stress (elevated corticosterone).
  • To compare different food restriction protocols.

Main Methods:

  • Rats were subjected to food restriction (80% baseline weight) or water restriction (15 min/day).
  • Open field activity and freezing behavior were measured.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Serum corticosterone levels and adrenal gland weights were analyzed.
  • A second experiment compared two food restriction maintenance protocols.

    • Main Results:

    • Food-restricted rats showed increased open field activity but similar freezing behavior compared to controls.
    • Food restriction led to elevated serum corticosterone levels after 37 days.
    • Water restriction did not significantly alter behavior or corticosterone levels.
    • Forced weight loss induced stress, but maintaining 80% of control weight eliminated stress indicators.

    Conclusions:

    • Chronic food restriction at 80% of baseline weight causes behavioral changes and physiological stress in rats.
    • Water restriction did not induce significant behavioral or physiological changes.
    • Modifying food restriction to maintain 80% of control rat weight mitigates physiological stress.