Evidence for hepatic involvement in control of ad libitum food intake in rats

Sectioning the hepatic branch of the anterior abdominal vagal trunk attenuated but did not abolish the normal nocturnal bias in the day-night distribution of food intake in female rats. Neither total daily food intake nor body weight was affected by hepatic vagotomy. This effect appeared to be specific to the hepatic branch of the nerve because sectioning the remaining (gastric and celiac) abdominal vagal branches did not influence daily feeding rhythms and appeared to be specific to feeding behavior, because the day-night rhythms of drinking behavior and wheel-running activity were not affected by hepatic vagotomy. In male rats, hepatic vagotomy also produced an increase in daytime food consumption but without commensurate reduction in nighttime eating. As a result, male rats with hepatic vagotomy displayed a modest chronic hyperphagia and body weight gain, which was associated primarily with increased linear growth. The effect of nerve section on daytime food intake was expressed quite rapidly. Daytime food intake increased within 8 h after hepatic vagotomy, which was produced at light onset by pulling on a previously implanted suture. Collectively, these results demonstrate that hepatic vagotomy changes daily feeding rhythms and suggest that the liver and perhaps its vagal innervation are involved in the control of ad libitum eating behavior.