Internal stimuli enhance feeding behavior in the mollusc Aplysia.

The hypothesis that subsatiating levels of internal food stimuli can arouse and potentiate feeding behavior was examined in the mollusc Aplysia californica. Animals were fed a small quantity of seaweed and their latencies to show biting responses were determined after food arousal was permitted to partially decay. Control animals were stimulated with food, but were not permitted to ingest it, or were fed nonnutritive glass-fiber filter paper. Compared to controls, animals that were fed showed significantly shorter latencies to respond when tested up to 80 min after previous exposure to food. These results indicate that internal stimuli can function like external stimuli to enhance responsiveness to food and suggest the hypothesis that satiation may be viewed as an interactive process involving the interplay of excitatory and inhibitory influences arising from the alimentary system.