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7339775 
Journal Article 
Haloperidol and nucleus accumbens dopamine depletion suppress lever pressing for food but increase free food consumption in a novel food choice procedure 
Salamone, JD; Steinpreis, RE; Mccullough, LD; Smith, P; Grebel, D; Mahan, K 
1991 
1 
Psychopharmacology
ISSN: 0033-3158
EISSN: 1432-2072 
Springer-Verlag 
104 
4 
515-521 
English 
An important aspect of motivated behavior is that organisms will perform complex instrumental behaviors to gain access to stimuli such as food. In the present study, food-deprived rats were tested in an operant chamber in which the animals had a choice between pressing a lever to obtain a more-preferred food (Bioserve pellets), or free feeding on a less-preferred food (lab chow). Typically, rats pressed the lever to obtain the preferred food pellets, and ate little of the less-preferred food even though it was freely available. Pre-fed rats showed suppression of both lever pressing and feeding. Systemic administration of 0.1 mg/kg haloperidol (HP) led to a dramatic shift in the behavior of these rats, such that the number of lever presses was substantially reduced, but the amount of less-preferred food consumed showed a significant increase. This result occurred if the rats pressed a lever on either a CRF or FR5 schedule. Injection of 3.5-7.0 μg HP directly into the nucleus accumbens, or intra-accumbens injections of 6-hydroxy-dopamine, also decreased lever pressing for food and increased feeding on laboratory chow. Thus, interference with brain dopamine suppressed a highly active instrumental response for food, although the behavior of the animal was still directed towards food acquisition and consumption. © 1991 Springer-Verlag. 
Dopamine; Foraging; Motivation; Motor function; Nucleus accumbens; Operant; haloperidol; oxidopamine; animal experiment; article; controlled study; dopamine brain level; dopaminergic system; feeding; histology; instrumental conditioning; intracerebral drug administration; intraperitoneal drug administration; male; motivation; nonhuman; nucleus accumbens; priority journal; rat; Animal; Catheterization; Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; Conditioning, Operant; Dopamine; Feeding Behavior; Food; Food Preferences; Haloperidol; Male; Nucleus Accumbens; Oxidopamine; Rats; Reinforcement Schedule; Stereotaxic Techniques; Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.