Brain mechanisms and feeding behavior in the pigeon (Columba livia) I. Quinto‐frontal structures

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Abstract
Lesions were placed stereotaxically in the principal sensory trigeminal nucleus (PrV), the quinto‐frontal tract (QFT) and the nucleus basalis (NB) of the pigeon and their effects upon food and water intake were studied. Bilateral lesions of these three “quinto‐frontal” structures are followed by periods of aphagia and by a hypophagia whose persistence and severity are approximately proportional to the bilateral extent of the lesion. Such lesions also disrupt the neurosensory control of the consummatory response of feeding.No effects upon food or water were seen following control lesions placed in a wide variety of regions at several levels of the brain, including the hypothalamus. Moreover, despite their marked effects upon feeding behavior, lesions of quinto‐frontal structures do not impair drinking.The results have helped clarify previous studies of forebrain mechanisms in feeding behavior and they suggest that PrV, QFT and NB are afferent components of a network of structures controlling feeding behavior in the pigeon.