Intracerebroventricularly administered corticotropin‐releasing factor inhibits food intake and produces anxiety‐like behaviour at very low doses in mice

Summary Aim : Previous studies have demonstrated that corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) produces behavioural, physiological and immunological responses similar to those induced by stress. However, these findings have been validated largely in laboratory rats. Methods : We examined the effects of intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) administration of CRF on anxiety and food intake in mice. Using the elevated‐plus maze, we measured anxiety levels after i.c.v. CRF in mice. We also measured food intake for 2 h after i.c.v. CRF. Results : CRF increased the normal preference for the closed arms of the maze at a very low dose of 3 pmol, indicating an anxiogenic effect. CRF powerfully suppressed food intake at the doses of 3–300 pmol for over 2 h. Conclusion : Our results demonstrate that i.c.v. CRF evokes anxiogenic behaviour and suppresses feeding with the same dose–response relationships in mice. CRF may thus play a role in integrating the overall responses to stress through co‐ordinated actions in the brain of this species.