Anticipatory activity rhythms under daily schedules of water access in the rat

Rats anticipate a fixed daily feeding time by entrainment of a component of their multioscillatory circadian system. The range of stimuli capable of entraining this component is little studied. Previous studies suggest that restricted water access is not an effective entrainment stimulus, as measured by general locomotion. The present study re-examined the issue, using two other measures of activity: wheel running and activity at a food-water delivery bin. Rats restricted to 1 hr of water each day in the middle of the light and to food in the 12-hr dark period showed no anticipation of this event in the wheel-running measure, but some rats did show anticipation in the delivery bin activity measure. Rats (bin activity measure only) restricted to 1 hr of water and 1 hr of food separated by intervals of 7, 10, or 12 hr, in either the light or the dark, showed consistent anticipation of food access time but little or no anticipation of water access time. Water access time also did not sustain food anticipatory rhythms in animals whose food-water schedules were reversed. However, deprivation of water or of both food and water for 72 or 90 hr was usually associated with specific increases in bin activity at both the usual feeding and drinking times. Water access, like food, appears to provide cues capable of entraining an anticipatory circadian mechanism. Differences in the type and amount of anticipatory activity preceding these events may reflect differences in the strengths of the two entrainment cues and/or in the activity levels or specific behavioral strategies promoted by hunger and thirst.