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Updated: Jun 19, 2026
04:56
Assessment of Social Transmission of Food Preferences Behaviors
Published on: January 25, 2018
Lesion studies targeting food-anticipatory activity
1Circadian Rhythms and Sleep Disorders Program, Department of Neurobiology, Morehouse School of Medicine, 720 Westview Dr., SW, Atlanta, GA 30310, USA. adavidson@msm.edu
The European Journal of Neuroscience
|October 30, 2009
Summary
Researchers explored the brain
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Chronobiology
- Behavioral Neuroscience
Background:
- Behavioral ablation is a key method for understanding brain function.
- The suprachiasmatic nuclei were identified as the light-entrainable circadian pacemaker using this technique.
- Food-anticipatory activity (FAA), regulated by a feeding-entrainable pacemaker, has resisted elimination via lesions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the literature on the neural basis of food-anticipatory activity (FAA).
- To examine the role of the dorsomedial hypothalamus in the generation of FAA.
- To address inconsistencies in lesion study results concerning FAA.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing scientific literature on behavioral ablation and circadian pacemakers.
- Analysis of studies investigating the dorsomedial hypothalamus in relation to food-anticipatory activity.
- Examination of varied endpoint measures in lesion studies.
Main Results:
- Food-anticipatory activity (FAA) has proven resilient to elimination by surgical lesions.
- Inconsistent results exist in lesion studies targeting the feeding-entrainable circadian pacemaker.
- Varied endpoint measures contribute to inconsistencies in lesion study outcomes.
Conclusions:
- The precise location of the feeding-entrainable circadian pacemaker remains unidentified.
- The dorsomedial hypothalamus's role in FAA generation requires further clarification.
- Further research is needed to resolve inconsistencies and pinpoint the pacemaker's location.
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