Central amygdala opioid transmission is necessary for increased high-fat intake following 24-h food deprivation, but not following intra-accumbens opioid administration

• CeA opioid blockade does not affect intra-Acb DAMGO-induced intake of a high-fat diet.
• CeA opioid blockade attenuates high-fat intake following 24-h food deprivation.
• CeA opioids mediate energy-deficit feeding, but not palatability-driven feeding of a high-fat diet.

Previous research has demonstrated a dissociation of certain neural mediators that contribute to the increased consumption of a high-fat diet that follows intra-accumbens (Acb) administration of μ-opioid receptor agonists vs. 24-h food deprivation. These two models, both which induce rapid consumption of the diet, have been shown to involve a distributed corticolimbic circuitry, including the amygdala. Specifically, the central amygdala (CeA) has been shown to be involved in high-fat feeding within both opioid and food-deprivation driven models. The present experiments were conducted to examine the more specific role of CeA opioid transmission in mediating high-fat feeding driven by either intra-Acb administration of the μ-opioid agonist d-Ala2–NMe-Phe4–Glyol5-enkephalin (DAMGO) or 24-h home cage food deprivation. Injection of DAMGO into the Acb (0.25 μg/0.5 μl/side) increased consumption of the high-fat diet, but this feeding was unaffected by administration of opioid antagonist, naltrexone (5 μg/0.25 μl/side) administered into the CeA. In contrast, intra-CeA naltrexone administration attenuated high-fat intake driven by 24-h food deprivation, demonstrating a specific role for CeA opioid transmission in high-fat consumption. Intra-CeA naltrexone administration alone had no effect on baseline feeding levels within either feeding model. These findings suggest that CeA opioid transmission mediates consumption of a palatable high-fat diet driven by short-term negative-energy balance (24-h food deprivation), but not intra-Acb opioid receptor activation.