Communicative & integrative biologyApr 30, 2024

A brief unexpected dark flash during the day reduces food-seeking behavior before mealtime

Circadian Biology Weekly Brief ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗OA ↗

Updated Apr 2, 2026

Abstract

Mice showed robust food anticipatory nose poking starting 4 h before scheduled mealtime during restricted feeding.

Food anticipatory behavior in mice appears to be linked to a circadian oscillator that adjusts with the light-dark cycle.
When the light-dark cycle was advanced by 6 h, mice demonstrated two distinct bouts of anticipatory poking: one aligned with the actual mealtime and another with the predicted mealtime.
A delay of 9 h in the light-dark cycle also resulted in two bouts of food-seeking behavior corresponding to the new light schedule.
A 3.5 h dark pulse introduced during the day had a limited impact on wheel running but temporarily reduced both anticipatory poking and food intake.
These findings indicate that the circadian system regulating food anticipation may be sensitive to disruptions in light exposure.

Simplified

Using an open-source operant feeding device (FED3), we measured food-seeking nose poking behavior in mice. When the mice were exposed to 4 h restricted feeding at night, all mice exhibited robust food anticipatory nose poking starting ~4 h before scheduled mealtime. When the light-dark cycle was advanced by 6 h, mice exhibited two distinct bouts of anticipatory poking, one corresponding to actual mealtime which continued at the same time of day, and one corresponding to predicted mealtime which shifted parallel with the light-dark cycle. Likewise, two similar bouts of food-seeking behavior appeared when the light-dark cycle was delayed for 9 h. These data suggest that food anticipatory behavior is encoded to a circadian oscillator that entrains to the light-dark cycle. Two weeks after advancing the light-dark cycle, mice incidentally received a 3.5 h dark pulse in the middle of the day. This single dark pulse had a negligible effect on running wheel behavior but caused a temporary attenuation of both food anticipatory poking and pellet intake. These results suggest that the circadian oscillator controlling food anticipatory poking is sensitive to light disruption and that proper food anticipation is critical for sufficient food intake during temporally restricted feeding.

Full Text

What this is

This research investigates how light-dark cycles affect food anticipatory behavior in mice.
Mice were subjected to restricted feeding schedules and changes in light-dark cycles to measure their food-seeking behavior.
The study finds that a single dark pulse during the day can temporarily disrupt this anticipatory behavior.

Essence

A single incidental dark pulse during the day can temporarily reduce food anticipatory behavior in mice, indicating sensitivity to light disruption.

Key takeaways

Mice displayed robust food anticipatory behavior when restricted to nighttime feeding, beginning approximately 4 hours before mealtime.
Advancing the light-dark cycle by 6 hours led to two distinct bouts of anticipatory poking, one aligning with actual mealtime and another with the predicted mealtime.
A 3.5-hour dark pulse during the day caused a temporary decrease in both food anticipatory poking and pellet intake, suggesting the circadian oscillator's sensitivity to light disruption.

Simplified

Supplementary Material

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health under R01NS114527 and the National Science Foundation under IOS-1931115 awarded to S.Y.

Funding Statement

This study was funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health R01NS114527 and the National Science Foundation IOS-1931115 awarded to SY.

Authors contribution

Conception and design – K.B., S.K.T.T., and S.Y.; analysis and interpretation of the data – K.B., S.K.T.T., M.S., D.E.E., S.F. and S.Y.; drafting the paper – S.K.T.T., M.S., S.F., and S.Y.; final approval of the version to be published – S.Y.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data reported in this paper is available upon request.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2024.2341050

A brief unexpected dark flash during the day reduces food-seeking behavior before mealtime

Abstract

Full Text

What this is

Essence

Key takeaways

Supplementary Material

Acknowledgments

Funding Statement

Authors contribution

Disclosure statement

Data availability statement

Supplementary material

References

Associated Data

Supplementary Materials

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Competing interests

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Abstract

Full Text

What this is

Essence

Key takeaways

Supplementary Material

Acknowledgments

Funding Statement

Authors contribution

Disclosure statement

Data availability statement

Supplementary material

References

Associated Data

Supplementary Materials

Data Availability Statement

Funding

Competing interests

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

What Lands in Your Inbox Each Week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief