Experimental animal models of eating disorders. Recent pharmacological studies

Until recently, the amount of standardized laboratory food eaten--during a short period of time--by starved young and lean animals was the only parameter used to determine the effects of drugs on feeding behaviours. Now with the introduction of recent physio-pathological concepts and new behavioural designs the information obtained from pharmacological studies is much more elaborate. It concerns not only the ingestive behaviours but also the peri-prandial behaviours. It gives specific indications on how the effects of different drugs may be affected by changes in the "milieu intérieur" and by the characteristics of environmental factors. Different experimental models are described; results obtained with these models are discussed.