Assessment of Binge-Like Eating of Unsweetened vs. Sweetened Chow Pellets in BALB/c Substrains

Abstract

Binge eating disorder (BED) is defined as chronic episodes of consuming large amounts of food in less than 2 h. Binge eating disorder poses a serious public health problem, as it increases the risk of obesity, type II diabetes, and heart disease. Binge eating is a highly heritable trait; however, its genetic basis remains largely unexplored. We employed a mouse model for binge eating that focused on identifying heritable differences between inbred substrains in acute and escalated intake of sucrose-sweetened palatable food vs. unsweetened chow pellets in a limited, intermittent access paradigm. In the present study, we examined two genetically similar substrains of BALB/c mice for escalation in food consumption, incubation of craving after a no-food training period, and compulsive-like food consumption in an aversive context. BALB/cJ and BALB/cByJ mice showed comparable levels of acute and escalated consumption of palatable food across training trials. Surprisingly, BALB/cByJ mice also showed binge-like eating of the unsweetened chow pellets similar to the escalation in palatable food intake of both substrains. Finally, we replicated the well-documented decrease in anxiety-like behavior in BALB/cByJ mice in the light-dark conflict test that likely contributed to greater palatable food intake than BALB/cJ in the light arena. To summarize, BALB/cByJ mice show binge-like eating in the presence and absence of sucrose. Possible explanations for the lack of selectivity in binge-like eating across diets (e.g., novelty preference, taste) are discussed.

Examination of onset trajectories and persistence of binge-like eating behavior in mice after intermittent palatable food exposure.

“…This work also advances our ability to model persistence of binge eating using preclinical approaches. Recent work found that during a 1 day reexposure test after incubation of binge-like eating, mice consumed similar amounts or more palatable food compared to the last day of baseline tests, highlighting the potential to examine binge eating persistence (Sena et al, 2022). The current work expands on this finding by completing three cycles of incubation and reexposure to palatable food across multiple days to examine not only the amount of palatable food consumed, but the patterns of reemergence and persistence in palatable food intake.…”

Examination of Onset Trajectories and Persistence of Binge-Like Eating Behavior in Mice after Intermittent Palatable Food Exposure

“…This work also advances our ability to model persistence of BE using pre-clinical approaches. Recent work found that during a one day re-exposure test after incubation of binge-like eating, mice consumed similar amounts or more PF compared to the last day of baseline tests, highlighting the potential to examine BE persistence (Sena et al, 2022). The current work expands on this finding by completing three cycles of incubation and re-exposure to PF across multiple days to examine not only the amount of PF consumed, but the patterns of reemergence and persistence in PF intake.…”