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Cerebellum

Thirsty work for the cerebellum

Nature Reviews Neuroscience volume 25, page 593 (2024)Cite this article

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The contributions of the cerebellum to brain function are known to extend well beyond motor control. Mishra, Feng and colleagues now add to the growing list of cerebellar functions by showing that it can modulate thirst in mice.

Changes in water intake have been shown to correlate with changes in cerebellar metabolic activity and blood flow, which suggests a role for the region in fluid homeostasis. Here, the authors discovered that asprosin, a hormone derived from adipose tissue, increases water intake and activates cerebellar Purkinje neurons in mice. Chemogenetic or optogenetic stimulation of these neurons induced water drinking, whereas inhibition of the neurons reduced water intake.

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  1. Nature Reviews Neuroscience http://www.nature.com/nrn/

    Katherine Whalley

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  1. Katherine Whalley
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Correspondence to Katherine Whalley.

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Whalley, K. Thirsty work for the cerebellum. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 25, 593 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41583-024-00848-4

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