Feeding behaviour articles within Nature Communications

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  • Article
    | Open Access

    AgRP neurons in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARH) are involved in regulating hunger and energy balance. Here the authors show that knockout of the DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a in AgRP neurons of the ARH leads to a reduction in voluntary exercise along with numerous epigenetic and gene expression changes in ARH neurons.

    • Harry MacKay
    • , C. Anthony Scott
    •  & Robert A. Waterland

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hunger modulates perception of good and bad tastes. Here, the authors report that orexigenic AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus mediate these effects through glutamatergic lateral hypothalamic neurons that send distinct projections to the lateral septum and lateral habenula.

    • Ou Fu
    • , Yuu Iwai
    •  & Ken-ichiro Nakajima

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The relationship between metabolomic and behavioral changes is not well understood. Here, the authors analyze metabolome changes in D. melanogaster heads and bodies during hunger and satiety, and develop the Flyscape tool to visualize the resulting metabolic networks and integrate them with other omics data.

    • Daniel Wilinski
    • , Jasmine Winzeler
    •  & Monica Dus

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neurons expressing pro-opiomelanocortin (Pomc) regulate food intake and body weight. Here the authors show that Steroid Receptor Coactivator-1 (SRC-1) regulates the function of Pomc expressing neurons, and that rare heterozygous variants found in obese individuals lead to loss of SRC-1 function.

    • Yongjie Yang
    • , Agatha A. van der Klaauw
    •  & Yong Xu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) is released from intestinal L-cells following nutrient uptake and enhances insulin release as well as promotes satiety. Here, the authors demonstrate that GLP-1 secreting cells release ATP and that this stimulates nodose neurons and enterocytes in a paracrine manner in vitro.

    • Van B. Lu
    • , Juraj Rievaj
    •  & Frank Reimann

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Reduction in food intake elicits neuroendocrine adaptations to counterregulate the negative energy balance, e.g. via reduction in leptin levels. Here, the authors identify an additional starvation signal, growth hormone (GH). Blocking GH receptor attenuates the fall of whole body energy expenditure during food deprivation in mice.

    • Isadora C. Furigo
    • , Pryscila D. S. Teixeira
    •  & J. Donato Jr

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Obesity is associated with altered N-acylethanolamine levels (NAE). Here the authors show that deletion of the gene encoding N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine phospholipase D, a key enzyme for NAE synthesis, in intestinal cells of mice leads to the development of obesity and hepatic steatosis via a mechanism involving the gut-brain axis.

    • Amandine Everard
    • , Hubert Plovier
    •  & Patrice D. Cani

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Agouti-related peptide (AgRP) producing neurons regulate food intake and metabolic processes in peripheral organs. Here, the authors show that hypothalamic AgRP neurons alter whole body substrate utilization to favour carbohydrate usage and lipid storage.

    • João Paulo Cavalcanti-de-Albuquerque
    • , Jeremy Bober
    •  & Marcelo O. Dietrich

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Developing new technologies for the neuromodulation of the vagus nerve can enable therapeutic strategies for body weight control in obese patients. Here, the authors present a battery-free self-powered implantable vagus nerve stimulation system that electrically responds to stomach movement.

    • Guang Yao
    • , Lei Kang
    •  & Xudong Wang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The molecular pathway(s) driving antipsychotics (AP) induced hyperphagia remains unclear. A novel C. elegans system is used here to screen for FDA approved drugs that selectively suppresses this response, unraveling potential molecular mediators influencing AP induced hyperphagia in mouse models.

    • Anabel Perez-Gomez
    • , Maria Carretero
    •  & Michael Petrascheck

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Endocannabinoid signaling regulates food intake and is a potential therapeutic target for obesity. Here the authors show that adipocyte O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT) is required for high fat diet-induced hyperphagia via transcriptional activation of de novo lipid desaturation and accumulation of an endogenous appetite-inducing cannabinoid.

    • Min-Dian Li
    • , Nicholas B. Vera
    •  & Xiaoyong Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Excess caloric intake leads to increased thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue, to limit weight gain. Here, the authors show that neuropeptide FF receptor-2 signalling promotes thermogenesis via control of NPY expression in the arcuate nucleus, and that it absence in mice leads to a failure of activation of diet-induced thermogenesis and the development of exacerbated obesity.

    • Lei Zhang
    • , Chi Kin Ip
    •  & Herbert Herzog

  • Article
    | Open Access

    In the ventral basal ganglia circuit, the ventral pallidum (VP) receives major inputs from the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and is involved in reward processing. Here, the authors report that, contrary to the accepted model, signals related to the relative value of reward in VP emerge before NAc and are more robust.

    • David Ottenheimer
    • , Jocelyn M. Richard
    •  & Patricia H. Janak

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Feeding-relevant vagal signaling occurs between the gastrointestinal tract and the brain, but it is unclear if this pathway influences cognitive processes. This study shows that endogenous gastrointestinal derived vagal sensory signaling promotes hippocampal-dependent memory function via a multi-order brainstem–septal pathway.

    • Andrea N. Suarez
    • , Ted M. Hsu
    •  & Scott E. Kanoski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    μ-opioid signalling has a known role in the response to various rewarding stimuli, including pleasant foods. Here, Nummenmaa et al. show using PET and fMRI that individual differences in brain μ-opioid receptor density predict the strength of the neural response to highly palatable foods in humans

    • Lauri Nummenmaa
    • , Tiina Saanijoki
    •  & Kari Kalliokoski

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Feeding disorders are often comorbid with compulsive behaviours but the underlying neural circuits are not known. Here the authors demonstrate that glutamatergic and GABAergic projections from the LH to the PVH exert antagonistic effects on grooming and feeding via modulation of PVH neuron activity.

    • Leandra R. Mangieri
    • , Yungang Lu
    •  & Qingchun Tong

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Melanocortin receptor accessory protein 2 (MRAP2) is an adaptor protein that contributes to melanocortin-4 receptor and prokineticin receptor 1 signalling. Here the authors show that MRAP2 also regulates ghrelin receptor signalling in the hypothalamus and starvation sensing in mice.

    • Dollada Srisai
    • , Terry C. Yin
    •  & Julien A. Sebag

  • Article
    | Open Access

    MANF is a neurotrophic factor that is secreted but also mediates the unfolded protein response acting intracellularly. Here, the authors show that MANF expression in the brain is influenced by nutritional cues, and hypothalamic MANF influences food intake and systemic energy homeostasis.

    • Su Yang
    • , Huiming Yang
    •  & Xiao-Jiang Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The influence of insulin on food preference and the corresponding underlying neural circuits are unknown in humans. Here, the authors show that increasing insulin changes food preference by modulating mesolimbic neural circuits, and that this pattern is changed in insulin-resistant individuals.

    • Lena J. Tiedemann
    • , Sebastian M. Schmid
    •  & Stefanie Brassen

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The mechanism by which caffeine, an antagonist of adenosine receptors, regulates metabolism is not clear. Here the authors show that adenosine A1R receptor expression is increased in the hypothalamus of diet-induced obesity mice, and that body weight can be alleviated by central administration of caffeine via its action on hypothalamic oxytocin neurons.

    • Liufeng Wu
    • , Jia Meng
    •  & Guo Zhang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hypothalamus is important for regulating feeding behaviour. Here the authors report genetic identification of neurons in the pretecto-hypothalamic circuit, and their causal involvement in prey detection and prey capture, using a combination of functional imaging and ablation studies in freely swimming zebrafish larvae.

    • Akira Muto
    • , Pradeep Lal
    •  & Koichi Kawakami

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying food texture detection are poorly understood. Here the authors show thatDrosophilacan discriminate food texture when feeding, and that this ability depends on NOMPC, a mechanosensory channel expressed in gustatory sensilla neurons.

    • Juan Antonio Sánchez-Alcañiz
    • , Giovanna Zappia
    •  & Richard Benton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Protein feeding is known to induce strong inhibition on further food intake, though the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, the authors identify a protein-specific satiety hormone inDrosophila, and show that it suppresses feeding via promoting DILP2 release in the central nervous system.

    • Jinghan Sun
    • , Chang Liu
    •  & Yan Li

  • Article
    | Open Access

    It is well known that alcohol consumption leads to overeating however the neural mechanisms are unclear. Here the authors demonstrate that hunger promoting Agrp neurons in hypothalamus are also activated by ethanol and are necessary for ethanol-induced overeating.

    • Sarah Cains
    • , Craig Blomeley
    •  & Denis Burdakov

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Feeding control requires the integration and coordination of motivational, sensory and motor circuits in the brain. Here, the authors discover a set of neurons that regulate feeding inDrosophilaby promoting insulin release, and whose activity reflects physiological hunger and satiety states of flies.

    • Yin Peng Zhan
    • , Li Liu
    •  & Yan Zhu

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Glycine sensing in the dorsal vagal complex (DVC) regulates hepatic glucose production in rodents. Here the authors show that pharmacological and molecular inhibition of glycine reuptake in the DVC potentiates NMDA receptors, and improves metabolic homeostasis in animal models of obesity and diabetes.

    • Jessica T. Y. Yue
    • , Mona A. Abraham
    •  & Tony K. T. Lam

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Hypothalamic melanocortin-4-receptors (MC4R) regulate food preference in rodents, but their role in humans is unclear. Here, the authors perform food preference and liking tests in humans with MC4R mutations and find that they prefer fatty food more, but sweet food less, than people without MC4R mutations.

    • Agatha A. van der Klaauw
    • , Julia M. Keogh
    •  & I. Sadaf Farooqi

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Dopaminergic neurons are important for regulating energy homeostasis. Here, the authors show the transcription factor FoxO1 negatively regulates tyrosine hydroxylase expression in midbrain dopaminergic neurons, and plays an important role in regulation of glucose homeostasis, energy expenditure, and resistance to diet-induced obesity.

    • Khanh V. Doan
    • , Ann W. Kinyua
    •  & Ki Woo Kim

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Bitter taste evokes aversive behaviour in animals, but little is known about the central nervous system mechanisms that convey this taste modality. Hückesfeld et al. identify a set of second order neurons in Drosophilathat contain hugin neuropeptide and are responsible for conveying bitter taste to the protocerebrum.

    • Sebastian Hückesfeld
    • , Marc Peters
    •  & Michael J. Pankratz

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) are known to receive visceral signals from the gut during feeding. Here, the authors identify two populations of CCK- and DBH-expressing NTS neurons that work to suppress food intake when activated via opto- or chemogenetic stimulation.

    • Carolyn W. Roman
    • , Victor A. Derkach
    •  & Richard D. Palmiter

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Integrating information from both the external environment and an organism's internal state is an important aspect of feeding-related decision making. Here, the authors identify a two neuron circuit within the mollusc Lymnaeathat adapts feeding behaviour according to food availability and motivational state.

    • Michael Crossley
    • , Kevin Staras
    •  & György Kemenes

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Histone deacetylases (HDACs) regulate energy metabolism in peripheral tissues, but whether HDACs expressed in the brain influence systemic metabolism is unknown. Here the authors show that hypothalamic HDAC5 expression is affected by the diet and HDAC5 regulates leptin sensitivity by deacetylating STAT3.

    • Dhiraj G. Kabra
    • , Katrin Pfuhlmann
    •  & Paul T. Pfluger

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Alzheimer's disease is linked to metabolic syndrome and Type-2 diabetes, but the mechanism behind this association is unclear. Here, the authors show that elevated glucose and amyloid ß work together to increase nitrosative stress, leading to aberrant mitochondrial activity and synaptic dysfunction.

    • Mohd Waseem Akhtar
    • , Sara Sanz-Blasco
    •  & Stuart A. Lipton

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The ventral hippocampus connects to the hypothalamus and has been implicated in feeding behaviours. Here, the authors use a combination of optogenetics and DREADD strategies to dissect the underlying circuit, showing that projections from the vHC to the lateral septum work to regulate feeding suppression.

    • Patrick Sweeney
    •  & Yunlei Yang

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Mice lacking RIIβ, a regulatory subunit of protein kinase A, are lean and resistant to diet-induced obesity. Here, the authors show that RIIβ regulates leptin sensitivity, acting as a physiological brake on leptin responsiveness and the duration of leptin signalling in the hypothalamus.

    • Linghai Yang
    •  & G. Stanley McKnight

  • Article |

    Sweet taste plays a key role in promoting ingestion of nutritionally rich sources of carbohydrates. Here, the authors demonstrate that the pharyngeal sense organs in adult Drosophilaare important for directing the sustained consumption of sweet compounds.

    • Emily E. LeDue
    • , Yu-Chieh Chen
    •  & Michael D. Gordon

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Reproduction in mammals is dependent on the function of specific neurons that secrete gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and project their axons to the median eminence (ME) of the hypothalamus. Here the authors show that Semaphorin7A signaling plays a role in mediating the plasticity of GnRH axon terminals and tanycytes in the ME.

    • Jyoti Parkash
    • , Andrea Messina
    •  & Paolo Giacobini

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis coordinates behavioral and physiological responses to stress but the mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, the authors show that neurons that produce hypocretin/orexin in the lateral hypothalamic area regulate corticosterone release and a variety of behaviors related to the stress response.

    • Patricia Bonnavion
    • , Alexander C. Jackson
    •  & Luis de Lecea

  • Article
    | Open Access

    Feeding is an important behaviour, but its quantification remains challenging, particularly in small animal models like Drosophila melanogaster. Here the authors describe a method which uses capacitive sensing for automated high-resolution measuring of feeding behaviour in individual flies.

    • Pavel M. Itskov
    • , José-Maria Moreira
    •  & Carlos Ribeiro

  • Article
    | Open Access

    The consumption of fermentable carbohydrates, or fibre, is associated with weight loss. Here the authors show that the metabolite acetate, created by fermentation of fibre in the mouse colon, is taken up into the brain where it induces appetite-suppressing neuronal activity in the hypothalamus.

    • Gary Frost
    • , Michelle L. Sleeth
    •  & Jimmy D. Bell

  • Article |

    Insufficient sleep is a known risk factor for obesity. Greeret al.show that sleep deprivation amplifies mesolimbic brain responses to food stimuli, yet impairs activity in higher cortical areas, which, together, are associated with an increased desire for high-calorie food items.

    • Stephanie M. Greer
    • , Andrea N. Goldstein
    •  & Matthew P. Walker

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