Tail Pinch Induces Eating in Sated Rats Which Appears to Depend on Nigrostriatal Dopamine

Mild tail pinch reliably and rapidly induced eating, gnawing, or licking behavior in all animals tested. Eating was by far the predominant response. Pharmacological analysis of the involvement of the brain catecholamines in tail-pinch behavior suggests that it is critically dependent on the nigrostriatal dopamine system.