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Updated: Jun 5, 2025
Manipulation of Rhythmic Food Intake in Mice Using a Custom-Made Feeding System
Published on: December 16, 2022
Time-restricted feeding does not improve daily rhythms in locomotion and drinking disrupted by artificial light at
Valentina Sophia Rumanova1, Ewout Foppen2, Monika Okuliarova3
1Hypothalamic Integration Mechanisms, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN), An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Animal Physiology and Ethology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia; Laboratory of Endocrinology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam Gastroenterology Endocrinology Metabolism (AGEM), Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
Abstract:
Exposure to artificial light at night (ALAN) disrupts natural darkness and desynchronizes daily rhythms in physiological processes and behavior. Previously, in rats, we have shown that dim ALAN disturbed the central circadian control and the temporal organization of behavior, and hormonal and metabolic pathways. The measurements of undisturbed daily behavioral (locomotor activity, feeding and drinking) patterns revealed reduced amplitudes and a transitory activity peak in the middle of the light (i.e. resting) period. Recent studies indicated that time-restricted feeding during the active period (TRFd) can strengthen daily rhythms and improve metabolic health. Therefore, the aim of our study was to prevent the dim ALAN-induced attenuation of daily behavioral rhythms by applying TRFd. Male Wistar rats were kept in a 12/12 light/dark cycle in metabolic cages for one week with free access to food and water. After acclimation, rats were divided into two groups: 1) ad libitum food or 2) time-restricted food during the dark period. After one week, both groups were exposed to dim ALAN for two weeks. Despite the enhanced amplitude of the daily feeding rhythm in TRFd animals, ALAN still suppressed the rhythm of locomotor activity, induced the extra peak during the resting period and reduced the bimodal pattern during the night. Furthermore, TRFd did not prevent the drop in anticipatory thirst caused by ALAN at the end of the active period. In conclusion, TRFd was not able to fully prevent the weakning of daily behavioral rhythms by dim ALAN.
