Therefore, the purpose of the present experiments was to test the role of the NPY Y2-R in food foraging, food hoarding, and food

intake in Siberian hamsters. To do so we asked two questions: (1) Selleck Protease Inhibitor Library Does antagonism of NPY Y2-R using BIIE0246 increase ingestive behaviors in fed animals and (2) does agonism of NPY Y2-R using the naturally-occurring PYY(3-36) inhibit the food deprivation-induced increases in ingestive behaviors? Two separate cohorts of 40 male Siberian hamsters 2.5–3 months of age and weighing 35–45 g were selected from our breeding colony. After weaning animals were group housed according to sex and raised in a long day photoperiod (16L:8D, light offset: 1900) with ad libitum access to rodent chow (LabDiet® 5001, Purina, St. Louis, MO) and tap water unless otherwise indicated. Room temperature was maintained at 21 ± 2 °C. Each cohort

was treated identically. All procedures were approved by the Georgia State University Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee and were in accordance with Public Health Service and United States Department of Agriculture guidelines. Animals were transferred 3-deazaneplanocin A to the foraging and hoarding room where they were singly housed in shoebox cages 290 mm × 180 mm × 130 mm (length × width × height), maintained in a 16L:8D photoperiod (light offset: 1330), and with ad libitum access to the pelleted test diet (DPPs, NADPH-cytochrome-c2 reductase Purified 75 mg pellets; Bio-Serve, Frenchtown, NJ) and water. After two weeks to acclimate to the new light offset, animals were placed into the foraging and hoarding apparatus modified from Perrigio and Bronson [39] and previously described [19]. Briefly, a bottom, “burrow”, cage 290 mm × 180 mm × 130 mm

(length × width × height) containing Alpha-Dri bedding (Specialty Papers, Kalamazoo, MI) and one cotton nestlet (Anacare, Belmore, NY). The bottom cage was opaque and covered to simulate the darkness of a burrow. The top, “foraging”, cage 456 mm × 234 mm × 200 mm (length × width × height) was equipped with a pellet dispenser, running wheel (525 cm circumference), and ad libitum access to water. The two cages were connected via convoluted polyvinyl chloride tubing (38.1 mm inner diameter and ∼1.52 m long). Wheel revolutions were counted using a magnetic detection system with monitoring by a hardware/software computer interface (Med Associates, Georgia, VT). Hamsters were acclimated/trained to this apparatus for one week prior to and after cannulation (see below). We used an acclimation/training regimen that minimizes changes in body mass and food intake that can occur when initially housed in the foraging and hoarding apparatus. Specifically, hamsters were given free access to food pellets and were able to earn a food pellet for every 10 wheel revolutions.