Homeostatic-related peptides injected into the rat nucleus accumbens alter palatable eating and impact the binge-like intake of a sweetened fat diet during simultaneous μ-opioid receptor stimulation

These experiments offer insight into the regulation of hedonically motivated feeding by homeostatic- and stress-related inputs to the nucleus accumbens. This systematic examination suggests that the nucleus accumbens' role in promoting palatable eating is not independent of the homeostatic signals that reach it from the hypothalamus and other brain regions.