Gastric negative feedback produced by volume and nutrient during a meal in rats.

To investigate the gastric negative-feedback control of eating during a meal, we implanted male rats with pyloric cuffs and gastric catheters and gave them access to sweet milk for 30 min after overnight deprivation. Ingested milk and infused milk or saline were confined to the stomach because the pyloric cuffs were closed in all tests. Rats received five consecutive tests with no gastric infusion or with infusions of 3, 6, or 12 ml of milk or saline during the first 6 min of the test meal. Only 12-ml infusions decreased intake significantly compared with no infusion. Because 12 ml of saline inhibited intake as much as 12 ml of milk, the decreased intake was due to volume or rate of infusion, not nutrient. Although infusions of 3 and 6 ml of milk did not decrease intake, they decreased the number of licks after the infusions significantly more than equal volumes of saline. Thus a large volume or rapid rate of gastric infusion decreases intake, and some other aspect of small milk infusions decreases the rate of licking.