Exploring the effects of nesfatin-1 in reward-associated and compulsive-like eating (B05 [A05])

Nesfatin-1肽在中枢神经系统和外周都具有多效性功能。Nesfatin-1在大脑中与能量摄入和支出的动态平衡调节相关的区域高度表达，也在与奖励相关的回路中表达。重要的是，我们可以证明中央给药Nesfatin-1减少了“喜欢”和“想要”，这表明了对中脑边缘多巴胺能系统的抑制影响。在这个项目中，我们的目标是使用综合的行为学、药理学和分子/遗传学方法来研究内源性Nesfatin-1的作用和催产素系统的招募。我们假设，在奖赏相关区域敲除Nesfatin-1会增加美味食物的奖赏价值，从而增强享乐系统的激活，从而导致饮食失调的发生。

The peptide nesfatin-1 possesses pleiotropic functions in the central nervous system as well as in the periphery. Nesfatin-1 is highly expressed in brain regions relevant for the homeostatic regulation of energy intake and expenditure, but also in reward-related circuits. Importantly, we could show that central administration of nesfatin-1 reduces “liking” and “wanting”, suggesting an inhibitory influence on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system. In this project, we aim at investigating the role of endogenous nesfatin-1 and the recruitment of the oxytocin system using an integrative behavioural, pharmacological and molecular/genetic approach. We hypothesize that nesfatin-1 knockdown in reward-related areas would increase the reward value of palatable food and therefore potentiate the activation of the hedonic system, thus contributing to the onset of eating disorders.