Opioid modulation of ingestive behavior

Supportive evidence for an important role of endogenous opioid systems in modulation of ingestive behaviors is presented. Low doses of morphine (1.0-5.0 mg/kg) increase and low doses of naloxone (0.5-2.5 mg/kg) decrease food and water intake during both acute and chronic testing in mildly-deprived rats. Chronic infusions of naloxone with implanted osmotic mini-pumps elicited sustained dose-related suppression of food, water, and saccharin solution intakes but did not reduce ingestion of 10.0% glucose solution or food following 12 hr deprivation. Finally, naloxone treatment did not antagonize nocturnal ingestion of food any more than it reduced day time feeding when the latter was enhanced by prior food deprivation. These results indicate that an opiate agonist and an opiate antagonist modify ingestive behaviors oppositely, affirming that endogenous opioid systems may be involved in control of feeding and drinking. However, their role may be restricted to only indirect participation in homeostatic regulation via neural systems modulating emotional tone or goal-directed behaviors in general.