Additive satiety-delaying effects of capsaicin-induced visceral deafferentation and NMDA receptor blockade suggest separate pathways.

Both ablation of visceral afferents and blockade of NMDA receptor-mediated glutamatergic transmission by MK-801 result in overconsumption of sucrose solution and other food, apparently by interrupting visceral signals and thus delaying satiation. If these two manipulations act on the same pathway, namely, the propagation of vagal afferent signals to NTS neurons, their effects would be expected to be non-additive. To test this hypothesis, two groups of rats - one with prior systemic capsaicin (n=11) and one with vehicle treatment (n=10) - were trained to drink 15% sucrose solution after 15 h food deprivation every 3-4 days, and then injected with MK-801 (100 microg/kg, i.p.) or saline. Both capsaicin and MK-801 produced the expected significant (P<.001) increase in 30 and 60 min sucrose intake if compared to their respective controls. Administration of MK-801 to capsaicin-treated rats further increased 60 min sucrose intake significantly (P<.001) in a fully additive fashion. These results suggest that the two treatments do not impinge on the same neural pathway to delay satiation. MK-801 may interfere with signals from capsaicin-resistant vagal afferents, or alternatively may act on other areas in the brain or periphery.