Hypothalamic monoamines and food intake in alcohol-preferring AA and alcohol-avoiding ANA rats

The concentrations and synthesis of monoamines in various hypothalamic nuclei and the influence of monoaminergic drugs on food intake were studied in two rat lines produced by selective outbreeding for voluntary high and low alcohol drinking. The hypothalamic nuclei of the alcohol-preferring AA rats contained slightly more serotonin than those of the alcohol-avoiding ANA rats, but the accumulation of 5-hydroxytryptophan after inhibition of aromatic amino acid decarboxylase was the same in both lines. There was no significant difference in the basal concentrations of catecholamines between the lines, but the accumulation of L-DOPA was significantly greater in the ANA than the AA rats, suggesting differences in catecholamine turnover. This difference was significant in the paraventricular nucleus, which is involved in the regulation of food intake. Clonidine (an alpha 2-agonist) and 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT, a 5-HT1A agonist) induced hyperphagia and 1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine (TFMPP, a 5-HT1B agonist) induced hypophagia dose-dependently in both rat lines. Clonidine tended to be more potent in the ANA than the AA rats. Food intake following a 20-h fast was significantly lower in the ANA than AA rats. These results suggest that the alcohol-avoiding ANA and alcohol-preferring AA rats have different hypothalamic monoamine mechanisms controlling food intake, which could also partially account for their differential alcohol acceptance.