Serotonergic system involvement in the inhibitory action of estrogen on induced sodium appetite in female rats

► Estrogen-dependent inhibition of sodium-depletion induced sodium appetite. ► Sodium-intake inhibition correlates with changes in neural activity of the OVLT and DRN. ► Sodium depletion-induced activity of the OVLT is absent in OVX + E2 rats. ► Estradiol-replacement in OVX rats reduces sodium intake and increases DRN-5HT-cell activity. ► Estradiol replacement increases the activity of vasopressinergic neurons.