Abstract

Thirst and Sodium Appetite: Physiological Basis describes the phenomenon of thirst and the mechanisms that define the need for water. Thirst and appetite has generated much study and research about the physiological, endocrinological, and pharmacological mechanisms that influence water intake. However, in this book, other concerns have been emphasized, such as the significance of brain mechanisms in the subject matter.
This book, consisting of 11 chapters, starts with a basic description of thirst then to an analysis of basic physiological mechanisms that determine water intake. Another topic also discussed in this book is various experimental paradigms that resulted to the dual-depletion theory of thirst. The neuroanatomical, neuroendocrinological, and neuropharmacological brain mechanisms are covered in three chapters of this book. These brain mechanisms respond to different peripheral signals that stimulate the thirst.
The final chapters are dedicated to sodium appetite. Although it has lesser literature than thirst has, there have been significant developments in the understanding of the role of sodium appetite in extracellular thirst. The last chapter reviews the questions that has kept investigators at bay and recommends direction of where future research may go.