Increased thirst and hunger in adult rats undernourished as infants: an alternative explanation

1. Rats were undernourished in early life by feeding their mothers a restricted quantity of a good-quality diet throughout lactation. Their undernutrition continued postweaning from 25 to 42 d of age, after which they were fed ad lib. Control rats were well nourished at all times. 2. Behavioural assessment of thirst was carried out on adult males. These were deprived of water for 23 h/d throughout the period of testing. Compared to control rats, previously-undernourished (PU) rats pressed a lever at a higher rate in a Skinner box to gain a water reward, drank more frequently during their first 5 min in an unfamiliar cage, and tended to run more quickly down an alleyway for water. PU rats also drank more (/kg body-weight 0-75) of a quinine solution (I g/l) when this was available to them ad lib. as their only source of fluid. 3. A second group of rats was growth-retarded during gestation and the suckling and early postweaning periods. The rats had free access to food from 42 d of age. In adulthood their ad lib. food and water consumption was measured. PU males ate and drank more (/kg body-weight 0-75) than control males. 4. These results indicate that adult rats which have been undernourished in early life display increased thirst. An attempt is made to explain this finding, together with their previously-demonstrated enhanced hunger drive, purely in terms of gross anatomical and physiological differences.