AbstractThe central nervous system is the integrator of most of the actions of the animal and as such plays a vital rôle in the control of voluntary food intake. Much of the work to understand how intake is controlled has been carried out with rats but that which has been done with pigs is included. The first experiments used electrolytic lesions in the designation of the ‘hunger centre’ and the ‘satiety centre’. Recent work has identified the paraventricular nucleus as a sensing site for experimental manipulations. Chemical stimulation of the brain has also been carried out to try to gain understanding of the rôle of neurotransmitters. Noradrenaline (NA) stimulates intake when given into many sites. Serotonin (5-HT) inhibits intake and has been claimed to play a rôle in the selection of macronutrients but 5-HT must now be interpreted in the light of the existence of several different subtypes of 5-HT receptors. Dopamine appears to moderate the hedonic response of eating. Numerous peptides are active in the brain where their rôle as neuromodulators may be quite different from their function in the periphery and at least three types of opioid receptors are implicated with kappa antagonists producing the most potent facilitatory effects. Neuropeptide Y and peptide YY produce massive orexigenic effects which readily overcome peripheral satiety factors. The brain cannot control intake in isolation. It receives inputs in the blood stream, such as glucose, as well as via the nervous system, both from the special senses and from visceral organs such as stomach, intestines and liver. Taste and olfaction are important in diet selection and a specific appetite for protein has been demonstrated in the pig.