Effects of gastric filling and vagotomy on ingestion, nipple attachment, and weight gain by suckling rats

The importance of gut signals for the short-term and long-term control of ingestion was investigated using rat pups in the natural suckling situation. Pups at 10 days of age were deprived of milk and their dam for 9 hr. Pyloric ligation, vagotomy, and preloading procedures were performed on the pups shortly before testing began. The initial latency to attach to a nipple and the incidence of attachment were recorded during the 2-hr suckling period. Milk intake and the weight of gastric contents were measured following the test. Pregastric stimulation together with natural or artificial gastric filling suppressed ingestion. Acute subdiaphragmatic truncal vagotomy enhanced ingestion under these conditions, and vagotomy alone resulted in controlled hyperphagia concomitant with exaggerated gastric filling. The data suggest that the stomach is one site where milk activates a suppression mechanism for ingestion. This mechanism is mediated primarily by the vagus nerve. The importance of nipple-attachment behavior is discussed in relation to ingestive behavior, and the question of satiety in suckling rats is raised. The chronic effects of truncal vagotomy on rat pups were also investigated, beginning with denervation at 10 days of age. The pups were challenged with deprivation and tested in the natural suckling situation on Day 20. Weaning occurred on Day 22, and the pups were sacrificed on Day 41, followed by measurements of body weight, body length, and gastric contents. The physical and behavioral changes that developed during the chronic phase of vagotomy included (1) permanent gastric distension following the first postsurgical bout of ingestion; (2) reduced intake of milk when the availability of milk was greatest during the suckling test; (3) increased resting behavior regardless of milk letdown conditions during the suckling test; (4) failure to gain weight at a normal rate; and (5) failure to grow at a normal rate. The data indicate that the vagus nerve is necessary for normal internal control of ingestion as well as normal gastric filling and emptying in the suckling rat. The inability of suckling and weanling pups to thrive in the chronic phase of vagotomy indicates that nonvagal internal controls of ingestion and digestion function adequately for survival, but they are not optimal for growth and maintenance of body weight in rats.