The effect of neonatal administration of monosodium glutamate on the circadian control of food intake in the rat

Abstract

Neonatal treatment with monosodium glutamate (MSG) results in a substantial degeneration of the inner layer of the retina and a decreased diameter of the optic nerves. Nevertheless, MSG‐treated animals entrain and re‐entrain to a light dark cycle. The question arises whether MSG selectively destroys the optic pathways which are involved in vision but not the retinohypothalamic trart that mediates entrainment. In these experiments not only entrainment and re‐entrainment of the circadian food intake rhythm of MSG‐treated rats was investigated but also the freerunning period under continuous bright and dim light It appears that MSG‐treated rats have shorter freerunning periods under continuous illumination than controls. Therefore, these results suggest that also those pathways involved in entrainment of the circadian food intake rhythm are affected by neonatal treatment with MSG.