Acute intraventricular CRF lowers the hoarding threshold in male rats

The influence of intracerebroventricular rat-CRF on the food-hoarding behavior of rats has been studied in relation to the animals' body weights. A group of six male rats was trained to feed every day from 1000 to 1200 h. Then their threshold for the onset of food hoarding was measured from the intercept of regression line of food hoarded during meal time vs. body weight with the x-axis. Thirty minutes before the hoarding session, the rats received 4 micrograms CRF, or saline control, in the lateral ventricle. The mean threshold for food hoarding was significantly lowered to 299 +/- 61 g after CRF, from control 418 +/- 68 g. Mean food intake during the hoarding sessions was also diminished to 6.0 +/- 0.6 g after CRF, from control 14.5 +/- 0.5 g. These results suggest that the set-point for body weight regulation is acutely lowered by intracerebral CRF.