Licking is a repetitive behavior controlled by a central pattern generator. Even though interlick intervals (ILIs) within bursts of licks are considered fairly regular, the conditions that affect their variability are unknown. We analyzed the licking pattern in rats that licked water, 10% sucrose solution, or 10% ethanol solution, in 90-min recording sessions after 4h of water deprivation. The ...

The aim of this study was to determine whether formalin reliably provokes a paw edema and pain behavior. The paw of male Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with 100 microliter of formalin with 2.5% (F2.5), 5% (F5), and 10% (F10) concentrations. Following the formalin (n=8) or saline (control, n=6) injection, the flinching or licking of the paw was recorded for the phase 1 response (0-5 min after...

Peripheral postischemic dysesthesia was examined behaviorally in mice and we investigated the underlying molecular mechanism with a focus on oxidative stress. Hind-paw ischemia was induced by tight compression of the ankle with a rubber band, and reperfusion was achieved by cutting the rubber tourniquet. We found that reperfusion after ischemia markedly provoked licking of the reperfused hind p...

Animals learn which foods to ingest and which to avoid. Despite many studies, the electrophysiological correlates underlying this behavior at the gustatory-reward circuit level remain poorly understood. For this reason, we measured the simultaneous electrical activity of neuronal ensembles in the orbitofrontal cortex, insular cortex, amygdala, and nucleus accumbens while rats licked for taste c...

--Key assumptions and components of biophysical models of hummingbird licking that are central to current interpretations of plant-pollinator coevolution have not previously been verified. To test the realism of the models, I measured fine-scale parameters of a Rufous Hummingbird's (Selasphorus rufus) licking, including licking frequency and volume extracted per lick, with a photodetector array...

Injections of the melanocortin 3/4 receptor (MCR) agonist melanotan II (MTII) to a variety of brain structures produces anorexia, suggesting distributed brain MCR control of food intake. We performed a detailed analysis of feeding behavior (licking microstructure analysis) after a range of MTII doses (0.005 nM to 1 nM) was targeted to the forebrain (third ventricle, 3V) or hindbrain (fourth ven...

Serotonin and the 5HT(1A) receptor are expressed in a subset of taste receptor cells, and the 5HT(3) receptor is expressed on afferent fibers innervating taste buds. Exogenous administration of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, paroxetine, has been shown to increase taste sensitivity to stimuli described by humans as sweet and bitter. Serotonergic agonists also decrease food and fluid...

Abstract: Stimulus-to-action sequences are believed to involve the release of dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline (NA). However, the electrochemical similarity of these two monoamines has limited real-time measurements of their release. As such, the temporal dynamics of DA and NA release in the cortex during learning and behavior remain poorly understood. To meet the challenge of assessing DA and N...