At 24 h post-adenoviral injection, rats were subjected to a 24 h fasting period followed by a 12 h refeeding period for the feeding behavior analysis. Food intake was monitored during the refeeding period by providing rats with pre-weighed rat chow and weighing it again after 12 h (Fig. 6, schematic representation). Food intake was expressed as g consumed per 200 g of body weight. Every interaction with the feeder was recorded by a computerized data acquisition system (VitalView, Respironics, Inc., Murraysville, PA, USA), registering frequency and time of permanency in the feeder.