Appetitive Behavior in the Social Transmission of Food Preference Paradigm Predicts Activation of Orexin-A producing Neurons in a Sex-Dependent Manner

•Appetitive behavior is predictive of orexin-A cell activity.•Orexin-A cell activity correlates negatively with food consumption in male, but not female, rats.•Female rats have significantly higher levels of Orexin-A activity than males.•Infralimbic cortex activity can be predicted by pre-euthanasia social behavior.