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Pain influences food preference and food-related memory by activating the basolateral amygdala in rats

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Abstract

The amygdala has been demonstrated to contribute to pain-related behavior and food preference. Here, the effect of pain on food preference and food-matched visual-cue memory, in the presence or absence of a basolateral amygdala (BLA) lesion, has been evaluated using a novel innovative apparatus and protocol. Forty adult male Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups (n = 8) as follows: control, pain, ibuprofen + pain, BLA lesion, BLA lesion + pain groups. Bilateral lesions of the BLA were produced by passing a current of 1.5 mA for 7 s. Pain was induced on the right hind paw of the rats by sub-plantar injection of 50 μl of 2.5% formalin. The animals were encountered with four different meals including wholemeal, wholemeal + sugar, white flour, and biscuit. Each test session consisted of six trials with inter-trial intervals of 15 min. The number of visits to each meal zone and port, the amount of time spent in each food zone and port, traveled distance in each food zone, food consumption per each visit and the total food consumption were recorded. The control group showed a high biscuit preference and low white flour preference. Rats suffering BLA lesion and rats in the BLA lesion + pain group exhibited a shifted preference curve. They had a bias toward eating wholemeal + sugar rather than white flour and biscuit. This group also showed an impaired spatial memory. In conclusion, our findings suggest that the BLA may be involved in pain-induced food preference and food-matched visual-cue memory.

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The data and materials for all experiments are available upon request from the corresponding author and will be made available in a data repository prior to the publication.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by funds from Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman.

Funding

This study was financially supported by Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran (Grant number: 98.6).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, P.O. Box: 76135-133, Kerman, Iran

    Mahnaz Zamyad, Mehdi Abbasnejad & Saeed Esmaeili-Mahani

  2. Laboratory of Molecular Neuroscience, Kerman Neuroscience Research Center (KNRC), Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Saeed Esmaeili-Mahani & Vahid Sheibani

  3. Endodontology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Maryam Raoof

  4. Department of Orofacial Pain and Dysfunction, Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA), University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Maryam Raoof

Authors
  1. Mahnaz Zamyad
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  2. Mehdi Abbasnejad
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  3. Saeed Esmaeili-Mahani
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  4. Vahid Sheibani
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  5. Maryam Raoof
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study. MA designed the study protocol. MZ collected the data. SEM carried out the statistical analyses. MA and VS and MR drafted the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehdi Abbasnejad.

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There is no conflict of interest to declare.

Ethical approval

All experiments were executed in accordance with the guidelines on ethical standards for investigation in animals in Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran (IR.UK.VETMED.REC.1398.018).

Additional information

Communicated by Sreedharan Sajikumar.

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Zamyad, M., Abbasnejad, M., Esmaeili-Mahani, S. et al. Pain influences food preference and food-related memory by activating the basolateral amygdala in rats. Exp Brain Res 239, 79–93 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05961-1

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