Physiology & Behavior最新文献

{"title":"\"Gender differences in psychophysiological responses to stress and academic performance: The role of sleep, anxiety, and Heart Rate Variability\"","authors":"Juan Camilo Benítez-Agudelo ,&nbsp;Dayana Restrepo ,&nbsp;Vicente Javier Clemente-Suárez","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114970","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114970","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>The prevalence of stress among university students has become a significant public health concern, with gender differences in psychophysiological responses remaining understudied. This study examined how gender influences stress-related factors and their association with academic performance.</div></div><div><h3>Method</h3><div>A cross-sectional study was conducted with 601 Colombian university students (74.7 % women, aged 15–47). Participants completed online questionnaires assessing sleep habits, personality traits (Big Five Inventory), anxiety (STAI), psychological inflexibility (AAQ-II), solitude (UCLA), perceived stress (PSS-4), and depression (Zung Scale). Heart rate variability (HRV) was measured via ECG to evaluate autonomic function. Academic performance was quantified using GPAs (1–5 scale). Independent <em>t</em>-tests and multiple linear regression analyses were performed.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Women exhibited significantly higher levels of neuroticism (<em>p</em> = 0.01), anxiety (<em>p</em> = 0.01), psychological inflexibility (<em>p</em> = 0.01), and perceived stress (<em>p</em> = 0.01) compared to their male counterparts. Regression analyses revealed gender-specific patterns: in women, academic success was predicted by longer sleep duration (<em>B</em> = 0.08, <em>p</em> = 0.01), moderate anxiety levels (<em>B</em> = 0.03, <em>p</em> = 0.01), and sympathetic activation (LFnu: <em>B</em> = 0.01, <em>p</em> = 0.01; R²=26 %). In men, poorer performance correlated with autonomic dysregulation (higher HR: <em>B</em>=-0.01, <em>p</em> = 0.04; lower PNN50: <em>B</em>=-0.01, <em>p</em> = 0.01; R²=30 %). Notably, no significant gender differences emerged in HRV parameters or sleep measures.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusions</h3><div>This study reveals a paradox: women maintained strong academic performance despite higher stress levels, potentially due to adaptive stress responses (moderate sympathetic activation). In contrast, men's performance was more affected by physiological dysregulation. While these findings suggest gender-divergent stress pathways, longitudinal research with direct emotion regulation measures is needed. The results underscore the value of gender-tailored interventions in academia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 114970"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144184888","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forced treadmill exercise in the male rat: effect on food intake and c-Fos expression","authors":"S. Eccles ,&nbsp;E. O’Hare ,&nbsp;E.-M. Kim","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114968","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114968","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study investigated the effect of forced treadmill exercise intensity on food intake in rats, and then on c-Fos immunoreactivity in selected brain sites. In Experiment 1, male Sprague Dawley rats (<em>n</em> = 24) were exposed to three intensities of forced treadmill exercise (32.5, 54 and 75.8 m/min) and food intake was measured 1, 2 and 3 hrs post-exercise. All three exercise intensities significantly reduced food intake at all three timepoints (<em>p</em> &lt; 0.05), with the maximum numerical effect observed at 54 m/min. In Experiment 2, the rats were exposed to forced treadmill exercise at 54 m/min and were then sacrificed 30 min post-exercise. Forced treadmill exercise significantly increased c-Fos expression in several brain areas associated with feeding, these areas were the central nucleus of the amygdala, the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminals, and in the paraventricular nucleus, the ventromedial, dorsomedial, and lateral hypothalamus. This is the first report of forced treadmill exercise in the male rat resulting in the expression of c-Fos in the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and ventromedial hypothalamus. A brain site not associated with feeding behaviour, the frontal cortex, was analysed to control for false positives, this revealed no significant c-Fos expression following forced treadmill exercise.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 114968"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144174689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between sense of coherence and phasic heart rate variability under psychosocial stress conditions","authors":"Yuki Kamiya,&nbsp;Kazuya Saita,&nbsp;Fumiko Kaneko,&nbsp;Jie Li,&nbsp;Hitoshi Okamura","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114969","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114969","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The concept of sense of coherence (SOC) is fundamental in salutogenesis, with an enhanced SOC being conducive to health promotion. Nonetheless, the precise physiological mechanisms through which SOC responds to stress and influences health remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to compare the effects of varying SOC levels on the autonomic nervous system during psychosocial stress conditions, employing phasic heart rate variability (HRV) as a measure. Thirty healthy volunteers participated in the study and were categorized into low- and high-SOC groups according to their SOC scores. A speech preparation task served as the acute stressor, with HRV recorded for physiological assessment. HRV data were analyzed across three phases—baseline, stress, and recovery. Two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant distinction in the root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) values between the low- and high-SOC groups under stress conditions (<em>p</em> = 0.026). In particular, the high-SOC group exhibited a significant increase in RMSSD values during the transition from the stress to recovery phase (<em>p</em> = 0.020), whereas the low-SOC group displayed no significant change in RMSSD values (<em>p</em> = 0.844). These findings suggest that individuals with low SOC may encounter challenges in effectively regulating the autonomic nervous system, potentially leading to slower recovery from stress.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 114969"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144151458","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Applicability of the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method for assessing reward-related behaviors in mice","authors":"Olga Krzyzaniak ,&nbsp;Sarah Steiner ,&nbsp;Frida A.M. Nilsson ,&nbsp;Macsmeila Dietrich ,&nbsp;Laura Kämpfen ,&nbsp;Pål Johansen ,&nbsp;Paulin Jirkof ,&nbsp;Urs Meyer","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114967","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114967","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Oral gavage is the standard method for acute or chronic <em>per os</em> treatments in laboratory rodents. It can, however, induce significant stress responses and compromise the welfare of animals. To mitigate these concerns, we recently introduced the micropipette-guided drug administration (MDA) method, which utilizes a palatable vehicle (diluted sweetened condensed milk) for voluntary ingestion of drug solutions. While MDA minimizes stress and potential injury, the sugar content of the vehicle raises concerns about its possible influence on reward-related behaviors.. This study examined whether acute or chronic exposure to the MDA vehicle affects the performance of male and female C57BL/6 mice in three behavioral tests that are commonly used to assess reward-related functions, namely the novelty-suppressed eating, sucrose preference, and incentive runway tests. Compared to corresponding sham handling, neither acute nor chronic exposure to the MDA vehicle affected novelty-suppressed eating or sucrose preference in either sex. However, chronic but not acute exposure to the MDA vehicle influenced the animals’ performance in the incentive runway test, with a significant effect observed in male mice specifically. This sex-dependent outcome suggests that male mice may be more susceptible to changes in reward-seeking behavior after chronic exposure to the MDA vehicle. In conclusion, our findings support the suitability of the MDA method for studies utilizing the novelty-suppressed eating and sucrose preference tests, while highlighting the need for careful consideration when assessing reward-seeking behavior in male mice using the incentive runway test.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 114967"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144151448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Witness stress promotes age and sex-dependent behavioral and neurofunctional alterations in the amygdaloid complex and dorsal hippocampus in mice","authors":"Julian Humberto Avalo-Zuluaga ,&nbsp;Stephany Viatela Ramírez ,&nbsp;Daniela Baptista-de-Souza ,&nbsp;Lucas Canto-de-Souza ,&nbsp;Javier Leonardo Rico ,&nbsp;Ricardo Luiz Nunes-de-Souza","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114966","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114966","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Humans are frequently exposed to stress, with social stress being a predominant factor, either directly experienced or observed. Chronic stress is linked to psychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety and induces morpho-functional changes in brain areas like the amygdaloid complex and dorsal hippocampus, which influence emotional responses. This study examined the impact of witness social defeat stress (WSDS) on depression-like behaviors and neural activation in Swiss-Webster mice, considering variables like sex and life stage. Two experiments were conducted: Experiment 1 assessed the effects of WSDS in adulthood (58–60 postnatal days [PND]) on behaviors such as coat state, nest building, novel object exploration, and body weight gain, as well as neuronal activation in the amygdaloid complex and dorsal hippocampus. Experiment 2 evaluated the long-term effects of early WSDS exposure (21 PND) on these same parameters, reassessing mice at 58–62 PND. Results showed sex-dependent behavioral changes, including altered novel object interaction, coat and nest quality, and decreased ΔFosB Protein Expression in the amygdaloid complex and hippocampus, with age and sex influencing the stress response. WSDS in adulthood produced smaller behavioral changes, with some signs of resilience particularly in females, while early exposure to this type of stress led to more pronounced effects. This study highlights the complexity of stress responses, suggesting that the intensity and timing of stress, along with sex, play critical roles in shaping behavioral outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"299 ","pages":"Article 114966"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144143388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The role of vasopressin deficiency in the fluid intake suppression hyper-responsivity to central glucagon-like peptide-1 in the Brattleboro rat","authors":"Sydney A. David ,&nbsp;Destiny J. Brakey ,&nbsp;Matthew J. Paul ,&nbsp;Derek Daniels","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114958","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114958","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Food and fluid intakes are physiologically and behaviorally intertwined; one often affects the other. Likewise, pharmacological manipulations that influence eating often affect drinking. For example, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) suppresses both eating and fluid intake, but the respective elements of the GLP-1 system remain unparsed. The Brattleboro rat has emerged as a model to test for separable elements in the control of fluid or food intake. Brattleboro rats have hereditary hypothalamic vasopressin deficiency. To compensate for the resultant polyuria, they drink copious amounts of water. Eating, however, is similar to that observed in wildtype littermates and other Long Evans rats. Interestingly, treatment with a GLP-1 receptor agonist exendin-4 (Ex4) causes an exaggerated suppression of drinking in Brattleboro rats, but suppression of eating is comparable to wildtype controls. To test if this hyper-responsivity depends on the polydipsia in these rats, we normalized their drinking using desmopressin (ddAVP), a V2R agonist, before treatment with Ex4. ddAVP attenuated, but did not completely prevent, the hyper-responsivity to Ex4. Conversely, we treated wildtype rats with acute or chronic tolvaptan, a V2R antagonist, which generated a Brattleboro-like polydipsia, but this did not recapitulate the hyper-responsivity to Ex4 observed in Brattleboro rats. Based on these results, we conclude that polydipsia alone is insufficient to generate a hyper-responsive fluid intake suppression by Ex4, and that Brattleboro rats have at least some persistent hyper-responsivity to Ex4, even after alleviation of their polydipsia. These results provide important context for future studies using Brattleboro rats to study the GLP-1 system.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 114958"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144132967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Separate or inseparable? Serotonin and dopamine system interactions may underlie the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for anorexia nervosa","authors":"Kaspar McCoy ,&nbsp;Felicia Reed ,&nbsp;Kyna Conn ,&nbsp;Claire J Foldi","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114957","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114957","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Psilocybin, a serotonergic psychedelic, has emerged as a promising treatment for a range of mental health conditions, including anorexia nervosa. Recent insights from animal models and human imaging studies suggest psilocybin enhances cognitive flexibility and modifies reward processing – two core processes disrupted in anorexia nervosa. Both cognitive flexibility and reward processing are highly dependent on interactions between serotonin (5-HT) and dopamine (DA) systems in key brain regions such as the prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens. Psilocybin’s influence on neuroplasticity, particularly in promoting structural and functional changes in neural circuits, underpins its therapeutic potential. While its effects are predominantly attributed to activity of the 5-HT2A receptor subtype, recent evidence suggests a broader network of brain receptor interactions, particularly those with dopaminergic pathways, plays a crucial role. Investigations using rodent models reveal that psilocybin induces both rapid and enduring neuroplastic changes, improving cognitive flexibility through these complex neurochemical mechanisms. Advances in real-time in vivo neurochemical recording now allow simultaneous monitoring of 5-HT and DA signalling, which will provide essential insights into their distinct and coordinated actions during cognitive performance. This integrative framework highlights the need for further research into psilocybin’s dual modulation of 5-HT and DA systems to optimize its therapeutic applications for anorexia nervosa, a life-threatening condition that is characterized by impairments in cognitive flexibility and reward processing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 114957"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144125272","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mechanisms underlying sustained resilience against anorexia nervosa from sub-anesthetic ketamine: A review and new research based on electron microscopic analyses of synapses using a mouse model","authors":"Yiru Dong ,&nbsp;Sebastian Goodwin-Groen ,&nbsp;Jessie Ma ,&nbsp;Esther Kim ,&nbsp;Sophia Del Giudice ,&nbsp;Michael Santos ,&nbsp;Chiye Aoki","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114956","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114956","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The activity-based anorexia (ABA) animal model captures key maladaptive behaviors of anorexia nervosa – starvation-evoked hyperactivity, voluntary food restriction, severe weight loss and elevated anxiety-like behavior. By repeating ABA induction, the model reveals an animal’s gain of resilience against ABA relapses and concomitant synaptic plasticity. We review findings on the efficacy of sub-anesthetic ketamine administered during ABA in mid-adolescence in gaining resilience against ABA relapses, and the molecular changes evoked at medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) synapses. GluN2B-containing NMDA receptors are significantly greater at excitatory synapses on dendritic spines of pyramidal cells. Drebrin, an F-actin binding protein that promotes activity-dependent trafficking of NMDA receptors to synaptic membranes, also increases at excitatory synapses on GABA-interneurons and pyramidal cells. These changes are at sites very near (&lt;1 μm) but clearly not at the post-synaptic plasma membrane of excitatory synapses, enabling rapid strengthening of synapses through receptor trafficking to the plasma membrane without increasing steady-state excitability. We propose that these changes underlie the ketamine-evoked gain of resilience against anorexia-like behaviors &gt;15 days post-injection, during ABA relapse in late adolescence. Ketamine treatment during ABA in late-adolescence ameliorates ABA relapse in adulthood &gt;15 days later but to a lesser extent. A new EM analysis revealed that wheel running promotes GABAergic inhibitory synapse formation on pyramidal cells of the hippocampus and that ketamine augments GABAergic inhibition’s contribution towards suppression of the most maladaptive behavior – starvation-evoked hyperactivity - while also augmenting food consumption, as reflected by weight gain at the end of food availability periods.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 114956"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144128456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Eating behavior and methods of complementary feeding introduction: A randomized clinical trial in Brazilian children","authors":"Paula Ruffoni Moreira ,&nbsp;Barbara Cristina Ergang ,&nbsp;Leandro Meirelles Nunes ,&nbsp;Juliana Rombaldi Bernardi","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114954","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114954","url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Background</h3><div>A child's early eating experiences, such as the introduction of complementary foods (CF), are critical points for the development of their eating behavior.</div></div><div><h3>Objective</h3><div>This study aims to analyze the impact of different CF approaches on the eating behavior of children.</div></div><div><h3>Methods</h3><div>A randomized clinical trial was conducted with mother-infant pairs, followed from 5.5 months to 12 months of age. The sample was randomized into three distinct CF methods: Parent-Led Weaning (PLW), Baby-Led Introduction to Solids (BLISS), or a mixed approach combining both methods. The Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire (CEBQ) was administered online at 12 months, assessing scales such as ‘food responsiveness’, ‘emotional overeating’, ‘enjoyment of food’, ‘desire to drink’, ‘satiety responsiveness’, ‘slowness in eating’, ‘food fussiness’, ‘emotional under-eating’, as well as the subscales ‘food avoidance’ and ‘food approach’. ANOVA was used to evaluate differences between the CF methods.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>A total of 126 mother-infant pairs were assessed, distributed as follows: <em>n</em>= 41 in the PLW group, <em>n</em>= 44 in the BLISS group, and <em>n</em>= 41 in the mixed group. The analysis revealed no statistically significant differences across the various eating behavior scales, including ‘food responsiveness’ (<em>p</em>= 0.412), ‘emotional overeating’ (<em>p</em>= 0.184), ‘enjoyment of food’ (<em>p</em>= 0.128), and ‘desire to drink’ (<em>p</em>= 0.177). Similarly, no significant differences were observed in ‘satiety responsiveness’ (<em>p</em>= 0.922), ‘slowness in eating’ (<em>p</em>= 0.294), ‘food fussiness’ (<em>p</em>= 0.929), ‘emotional under-eating’ (<em>p</em>= 0.972), ‘food avoidance’ (<em>p</em>= 0.964), or ‘food approach’ (<em>p</em>= 0.051) between the different CF groups.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>No differences were observed in the scores of the eating behavior scales and subscales among children who followed different CF approaches. Further studies are needed to investigate the relationship between the CF approach and child eating behavior.</div></div><div><h3>Trial Registration</h3><div>Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry (ReBEC): RBR-229scm, registration number U1111–1226–9516. Registered on September 24, 2019.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 114954"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144120651","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Short-term effects of liraglutide and semaglutide on weight gain and adiposity by rats fed a Western diet","authors":"Charlotte Airosus,&nbsp;Negar Ghasam Ardabili,&nbsp;Alexia Hyde,&nbsp;Terry L. Davidson","doi":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114955","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.physbeh.2025.114955","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>GLP-1 receptor agonists are known to produce weight loss in people with obesity. Whether either drug can prevent weight gain by nonobese individuals has received little research attention. The present studies investigated the ability of liraglutide and semaglutide to prevent weight gain in male and female rats following the initiation of an obesity-promoting Western-style diet (WD). Because these drugs have been reported to produce gastric upset, we investigated whether either could prevent weight gain and increased adiposity at doses that failed to produce sickness. In Experiment 1a, 50 and 25 µg/kg doses (i.p.) of liraglutide produced significant conditioned taste avoidance (CTA), whereas 10 and 5 µg/kg doses did not. In Experiment 1b, daily administration of the 10 µg/kg dose of liraglutide over a 12-day test period following ad libitum WD initiation failed to prevent increases in body weight or adiposity relative to saline for either sex. Experiment 2 showed that 10 µg/kg of semaglutide, injected once every 3 days, significantly reduced WD-induced weight, and fat gain relative to saline controls. However, Experiment 3a showed that this dose, but not 5 or 3 µg/kg doses produced significant CTA for both sexes. Experiment 3b examined the effects of the 5 µg/kg i.p. dose of semaglutide, administered every 3 days and found no significant effect on WD-induced weight gain and only a transient effect on adiposity relative to WD-fed saline controls. The present findings suggest that the ability of GLP-1 receptor agonists to prevent weight and body fat gain may depend on malaise.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":20201,"journal":{"name":"Physiology & Behavior","volume":"298 ","pages":"Article 114955"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-05-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144102410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}