Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 21, 2026
Using the Activity-based Anorexia Rodent Model to Study the Neurobiological Basis of Anorexia Nervosa
Published on: October 22, 2015
Abnormal feeding behaviour in spinalised rats is mediated by hypothalamus: Restorative effect of exposure to
S Ambalayam1, S Jain1, R Mathur1
1Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Study Design:
Experimental study.
Objectives:
To investigate the role of hypothalamus in abnormal feeding behaviour after spinal cord injury (SCI) and the effect of exposure to extremely low frequency magnetic field (ELF-MF) on it.
Setting:
India.
Methods:
Male Wistar rats (n=44) were divided into Sham (laminectomy), SCI (complete transection of T13 spinal cord), SCI+MF (ELF-MF exposure to SCI rats), VMHL (lesion of ventromedial hypothalamus; VMH), SCI+VMHL (VMHL after SCI) and SCI+VMHL+MF (ELF-MF exposure to SCI+VMHL rats) groups. Food intake (FI), water intake (WI), calorie intake (CI), body weight (BWT), taste preference and sucrose-induced biphasic (SIB) response to noxious stimulus were studied pre and post surgery. Neuronal activity at VMH was assessed by c-Fos immunohistochemistry. The extent of neuronal degeneration and regeneration in spinal cord was assessed microscopically.
Results:
Data revealed post-SCI decrease in FI, WI, CI and BWT, preference for sodium chloride and citric acid, prolonged analgesic phase of SIB and increased c-Fos immunoreactivity in VMH of SCI rats vs Sham rats. VMH lesion increased FI, WI, CI, BW, preference for sweet tastants and abolished SIB, whereas in SCI+VMHL rats it abolished the effects of SCI on these parameters indicating probable involvement of VMH in SCI-induced alteration in feeding behaviour. Exposure to MF improved the study parameters in SCI rats and reduced the c-Fos immunoreactivity in VMH besides reduction in lesion volume, greater myelination and neuronal regeneration at SCI site.
Conclusion:
SCI influences VMH, leading to alteration in feeding behaviour, which is improved by exposure to ELF-MF.
