PHYSIOLOGY OF

MOTIVATION;
THIRST
 WHAT IS

Thirst?
A sensation of dryness in the mouth and
throat associated with a desire for liquids

Thirst is normally just the brain's way of

warning that you're dehydrated because
you're not drinking enough fluid.
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Your posterior pituitary releases the hormone
vasopressin that raises blood pressure by
constricting blood vessels. (The term
vasopressin comes from vascular pressure.)
The increased pressure helps compensate for
the decreased blood volume. Vasopressin is
also known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH)
because it enables the kidneys to reabsorb
water from urine and therefore make the
urine more concentrated. ( Diuresis means
“urination.“ )
Two Types of Thirst
 Osmotic Thirst
-We distinguish two types of thirst. Eating salty foods causes osmotic thirst, and
losing fluid by bleeding or sweating induces hypovolemic thirst. The combined
concentration of all solutes (molecules in solution) in mammalian body fluids
remains at a nearly constant level of 0.15 M (molar).

-This fixed concentration of solutes is a set point, similar to the set point for
temperature. Any deviation
activates mechanisms that restore the concentration of solutes to the set point.

Osmotic pressure
- is the tendency of water to flow across a semipermeable membrane from the
area of low solute concentration to the area of higher concentration.

- semipermeable membrane is one through which water can pass but solutes
cannot. The membrane surrounding a cell is almost a semipermeable membrane
because water flows across it freely and various solutes flow either slowly or not
at all between the intracellular fluid inside the cell and the extracellular fluid
outside it. Osmotic pressure occurs when solutes are more concentrated on one
side of the membrane than on the other.
 Osmotic Thirst
-If you eat something salty, sodium ions spread through the
blood and the extracellular fluid but do not cross the membranes
into cells. The result is a higher concentration of solutes
(including sodium) outside the cells than inside. The resulting
osmotic pressure draws water from the cells into the
extracellular fluid.

Certain neurons detect their own loss of water and then trigger
osmotic thirst, a drive for water that helps restore the normal
state.

- The kidneys also excrete more concentrated urine to rid the

body of excess sodium and maintain as much water as possible.
 Osmotic Thirst
The brain areas surrounding the third ventricle are in a good position to
monitor the contents of the blood, because the blood–brain barrier is weak in
this area, enabling chemicals to enter that would not reach neurons
elsewhere in the brain. The danger, of course, is that a weak blood– brain
barrier exposes neurons to potential harm.

- The subfornical organ has one population of neurons that increases thirst
and another population that suppresses it. Those axons combine with input
from the OVLT, the stomach, and elsewhere to provide input to the
hypothalamus. The lateral preoptic area and surrounding parts of the
hypothalamus control drinking.

-The supraoptic nucleus and the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) control the
rate at which the posterior pituitary releases vasopressin.

-When your cells start to become dehydrated, they stimulate osmotic thirst.
However, remember the concept of allostasis: Your body does not just react
to needs, but also it anticipates needs.
 hypovolemic Thirst and Sodium-
Specific Hunger
- Occurs when an individual loses a significant
amount of body fluid through bleeding, diarrhea, or
sweating.
- Despite stable osmotic pressure, the body needs to
restore lost fluid to maintain proper blood circulation
and nutrient flow.
- Receptors in the kidneys and blood vessels react to
decreased blood pressure, releasing vasopressin and
activating the renin-angiotensin system.
- Angiotensin II, a hormone, triggers thirst. This
type of thirst is different from osmotic thirst as it
focuses on replenishing lost salts, not just water.
 Sodium-Specific Hunger
- Develops when an animal becomes deficient in sodium.
- The immediate and strong preference for salty tastes,
even for concentrated salt solutions that would be ordinarily
rejected.
- Neurons in various brain areas react more strongly than
usual to salty tastes.
- Examples include individuals experiencing sodium-specific
hunger during menstruation or after heavy sweating.
- Sodium-specific hunger is partly influenced by hormones
like aldosterone, which causes the retention of salt by the
kidneys, salivary glands, and sweat glands. The combined
effect of aldosterone and angiotensin II leads to an
increased intake of salt.
Sodium-Specific Hunger
Osmotic vs hypovolemic Thirst
 Physiological
regulatory mechanism
Physiological Regulatory Mechanisms maintain the constancy of some
internal characteristics of the organism.

Regulatory mechanism contains four essential features:

1. System Variable – the characteristic to be regulated
2. Set Point – the optimal value of the system variable
3. Detector – monitors the value of the system variable
4. Correctional Mechanism – restores the system variable to the set
point.

The activity of the system is regulated by negative feedback, a

process whereby the effect produced by an action serves to diminish or
terminate the action.
Physiological regulatory mechanism

Ingestive behaviors are correctional mechanisms that replenish the

body’s depleted stores of water or nutrients. Because of the delay
between ingestion and replenishment of the depleted stores, ingestive
behaviors are controlled by satiety mechanisms as well as by detectors
that monitor the system variables. Satiety mechanisms are brain-based
mechanisms that reduce hunger or thirst related to behaviors that
result in adequate intake of nutrients or water.
 Physiological
regulatory mechanism
 Neural mechanisms
of thirst
As you read, the osmoreceptors that initiate drinking
are located in the OVLT and SFO of the lamina
terminalis. The lamina terminalis seems to be the part
of the brain where osmometric and volumetric signals
are integrated to control drinking. The signal for
volumetric thirst is provided by angiotensin. Because
this peptide does not cross the blood–brain barrier, it
cannot directly affect neurons in the brain except for
those located outside the blood–brain barrier, such as
the OVLT and SFO. In fact, research indicates that
the SFO is where blood angiotensin acts to produce
thirst.
 SUBFORNICAL ORGAN (SFO)

Simpson and colleagues (1978)

found that very low doses of
angiotensin injected directly into
the SFO caused drinking and that
destruction of the SFO or injection
of a drug that blocks angiotensin
receptors abolished the drinking
that normally occurs when In addition, Phillips and Felix
angiotensin is injected into the (1976) found that injections of
blood. minute quantities of angiotensin
into the SFO increased the
firing rate of single neurons
located there. Evidently, these
neurons contain angiotensin
receptors.
MEDIAN PREOPTIC NUCLEUS

Neurons in the SFO send their axons

to another part of the lamina
terminalis: the median preoptic
nucleus , a small nucleus wrapped
around the front of the anterior
commissure, a fiber bundle that
connects the amygdala and anterior
temporal lobe.
On the basis of these findings, Thrasher and
his colleagues (1989) suggested that the
median preoptic nucleus acts as an
integrating system for most or all of the stimuli
for osmometric and volumetric thirst. As you
just read, the median preoptic nucleus receives
information from angiotensin-sensitive
neurons in the SFO. In addition, this nucleus
receives information from the OVLT and from
the nucleus of the solitary tract (which receives
information from the atrial baroreceptors).
 Excitotoxic lesions of the median preoptic
nucleus, which destroy cell bodies but spare
axons passing through the structure, cause
severe deficits in osmometric thirst
(Cunningham et al., 1992). According to
Thrasher and his colleagues, the median
preoptic nucleus integrates the infor- mation
it receives and, through its efferent
connections with other parts of the brain,
controls drinking.
Neural mechanisms of thirst
This region of the lamina terminalis
seems to play a critical role in fluid
regulation in humans as well. As we
saw earlier, functional imaging
indicates that osmometric thirst
increases the activity of this region.

In addition, McIver and colleagues

(1991) reported that brain damage
that includes this region can cause
adipsia—lack of drinking. The patients
report no sensation of thirst even after
they are given an injection of
hypertonic saline. To survive, they
must deliberately drink water at
regular intervals each day, even
though they feel no need to do so.
 Disorders associated with thirst
01
Dehydration
loss of water from the body; it is almost
invariably associated with some loss of
salt (sodium chloride) as well. caused by
restricted water intake, excessive water
loss, or both. The most common cause of
dehydration is failure to drink liquids.
02
Acidosis
abnormally high level of acidity, or low
level of alkalinity, in the body fluids,
including the blood. Metabolic acidosis
occurs when acids are produced in the body
faster than they are excreted by the kidneys
or when the kidneys or intestines excrete
excessive amounts of alkali from the body.
 Disorders associated with thirst
03 04
Adipsia and polydipsia Diabetes insipidus
characterized by excessive thirst and
rare disorder characterized by the lack of
excessive production of very dilute urine.
thirst even in the presence of dehydration.
The disorder is caused by a lack of
Polydipsia is excessive thirst. Excess thirst
vasopressin or a blocking of its
is an abnormal urge to drink fluids at all
action.deficiency of vasopressin secretion
times. It's a reaction to fluid loss in your
(central diabetes insipidus) or by a
body. Dry mouth and the urge to pee often
deficiency of vasopressin action in the
may go along with it.
kidney (nephrogenic diabetes insipidus).
 Mechanisms of water
regulation Physiological regualting
POSTERIOR PITUARY = mechanisms
VASSOPRESSIN (ADH) SYSTEM VARIABLE
DIURESIS SET POINT
= URINATION DETECTOR
CORRECTIONAL MECHANISM

Physiological
Osmotic Thirst
Salt = sodium
osmotic pressure- lower to Neural mechanisms of Thirst

motivation;
higgher concentration lamina terminalis
subfornical organ, ovlt, third median preoptic nucleus
ventricle- brain areas for o.t. excitotoxic lesions

thirst
Hypovolemic Thirst DISORDERS ASSOCIATED WITH
sodium- specific hunger THIRST:
low blood volume-renin- DEHYDRATION
angiotensin i-angiotensin ii- ACIDOSIS
increase drinking ADIPSIA & POLYDIPSIA
based on low volume DIABETES INSIPIDUS : central
+aldosterone= low sodium diabetes insipidus &
reserves nephrogenic diabetes insipidus
 REFERENCES
HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/SCIENCE/DIAB
ETES-INSIPIDUS
HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/SCIENCE/ACID
OSIS
HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/SCIENCE/ADIP
SIA
HTTPS://WWW.BRITANNICA.COM/SCIENCE/DEHY
DRATION-PHYSIOLOGY
KALAT, 2019 BIOLOGICAL PSYCHOLOGY 13E
CARLSON, 2022 PHYSIOLOGY OF BEHAVIOUR 13E
1.Thirst is a sensation of dryness in _______? 3. A disorder characterized by the lack of thirst
a. liver even in the presence of dehydration.
b. lungs a. unthirsty
c. mouth b. adipsia
d. eyes c. hyperdipsia
d. not thirsty
2. Vasopressin is also Known as ___ because it
enables the kidneys to reabsorb water from urine 4. The feeling of extreme thirstiness or is also
and therefore make the urine more concentrated. called excessive thirst. It is an abnormal urge to
a. antidiuretic hormone (adh) drink fluids at all times.
b. antediaretic hormone (adh) a. very thirsty
c. diuresis b. polydipsia
d. diaresis c. hyperdipsia
d. thirst trap
5. Which component of the regulatory mechanism 8. What provides the signal for volumetric thirst?
monitors the value of the system variable? a. axon
a. correctional mechanism b. angiotensin
b. set point c. neuron
c. detector d. myelin sheath
d. system variable
9. __________ is one through which water can pass
6. Which component of the regulatory mechanism but solutes cannot.
represents the optimal value of the system
variable? 10. Certain neurons detect their own loss of
a. correctional mechanism water and then trigger ____________, a drive for
b. set point water that helps restore the normal state.
c. system variable
d. detector

7. What do you a disease characterized by the

absence of thirst even in the presence of body
water depletion or salt excess?
a. adipsia
b. silos
c. adepshie
d. ldr
THANK YOU
VERY MUCH
 GROUP 3:
ALVARIO, STEPHANIE NICOLE
AQUINO, ROMEL
CARINUGAN, JORDAN IVAN
COTELO, KYLE
SORIANO, RHEA ABEGAIL
SORIO, MICAELLA KEITH
VELARDE, ANGELA