Drinking is an act controlled by both physiological and psychological factors, and is arguably the most important act that animals engage in. Absence of drinking for more than 24 h produces serious dehydration, which if continued will soon lead to death. There are a variety of physiological mechanisms, closely monitored by the brain, which regulate water balance and trigger the act of drinking—see OSMOREGULATION for discussion of these.
As with FEEDING though, there are a variety of non-specific stimuli that trigger drinking, and the composition and taste of fluids on offer is evidently important (see ALCOHOL for example). Note that the terms FEEDING and DRINKING are not as distinct as they might appear. Animals given the opportunity to drink sucrose solutions in high concentrations will consume large amounts, because the taste is very plea sant. But in consequence of taking on board a large amount of ENERGY (the sucrose), animals’ food intake will fall. The important considerations for animals are ENERGY BALANCE and WATER BALANCE: FEEDING and DRINKING describe behavioural acts that enable proper energy and water balance to be maintained
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