Ghrelin mediates stress-induced food-reward behavior in mice.

ABSTRACT: The popular media and personal anecdotes are rich with examples of stress-induced eating of calorically dense "comfort foods." Such behavioral reactions likely contribute to the increased prevalence of obesity in humans experiencing chronic stress or atypical depression. However, the molecular substrates and neurocircuits controlling the complex behaviors responsible for stress-based eating remain mostly unknown, and few animal models have been described for probing the mechanisms orchestrating this response. Here, we describe a system in which food-reward behavior, assessed using a conditioned place preference (CPP) task, is monitored in mice after exposure to chronic social defeat stress (CSDS), a model of prolonged psychosocial stress, featuring aspects of major depression and posttraum

SUBMITTER: Chuang JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3223843 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature