Neurobiology of chemosensation, reward and eating behaviors; molecular and neuronal mechanisms along the gut-brain-axis in animal models

我们正在肥胖和代谢功能障碍的动物模型中研究感觉科学和代谢。 代谢功能障碍和感官科学： 肥胖症的增加与富含脂肪和糖的高可口和能量密集的食物的可获得性增加有关。高能量食物的快乐驱动价值促进了它们的优先消费，这可能导致热量摄入增加和肥胖。味觉、嗅觉和其他化学感觉系统有助于享乐加工和进食行为。因此，人们越来越关注味觉在肥胖中的作用，包括研究脂肪味觉和相关嗅觉的生物介质作为药理学和营养干预的潜在目标。 临床前研究是必要的，以测试潜在的化学感觉，我们不能在临床人群中测试的机制。正在进行的项目将使我们能够了解与饮食相关的化学感觉变化以及感觉线索如何重塑大脑奖励回路。为此，我们正在研究饮食和肥胖对参与化学感觉和奖励的小鼠大脑区域中神经元动力学的影响（即，嗅球、嗅皮层和岛叶皮层）。具体来说，我们将研究饮食对行为的影响（例如，味觉偏好和嗅觉检测/辨别），神经元动力学（例如，神经元活化、神经元回路和神经元表型）以及转录组和蛋白质水平。为了实现这一目标，我们一直在开发利用包括光遗传学、电生理学和转录组学研究在内的技术的方案。继续与校内和校外的合作者进行合作。 Drs. Claudia Colina-Prisco和罗萨里奥Jaime-Lara正在领导这个正在进行的子项目。 感觉系统紊乱： 阿片类药物使用障碍，包括滥用处方止痛药，是一场具有破坏性后果的国家危机，包括阿片类药物过量相关死亡人数迅速上升。疼痛、成瘾及其交叉的生理机制尚未完全了解。本研究的目的是研究疼痛，阿片类药物使用和阿片类药物使用障碍的多种表型的基因组变化。其目的是提高对感觉系统障碍与疾病之间关系的理解。这包括物质使用障碍引起的阈值差异和对味觉、嗅觉的反应，以及疼痛感知的变化。 项目已经启动，并已取得初步调查结果。目前还没有关于这些项目的出版物。

We are studying sensory science and metabolism in animal models of obesity and metabolic dysfunction. Metabolic Dysfunction and Sensory Science: The rise in obesity is associated with an increased availability of highly palatable and energy-dense foods, rich in fat and sugar. The pleasure driven value of energy-dense foods promotes their preferential consumption which can lead to increased caloric intake and obesity. Taste, olfaction, and other chemosensory systems contribute to hedonic processing and eating behavior. Thus, there is growing interest in the role of taste in obesity, including the study of the biological mediators of fat-taste and associated olfaction as potential targets for pharmacologic and nutritional interventions. Pre-clinical studies are necessary to test potential mechanisms underlying chemosensation that we cannot test in clinical populations. The ongoing project will allow us to understand chemosensory changes associated with diet and how sensory cues reshape brain reward circuitry. To this end, we are investigating the impact of diet and obesity on neuronal dynamics in mouse brain regions involved in chemosensation and reward (i.e., olfactory bulb, olfactory cortex, and insular cortex). Specifically, we will examine the effect of diet on behavior (e.g., taste preference and smell detection/discrimination), neuronal dynamics (e.g., neuronal activation, neuronal circuitry, and neuronal phenotype), and transcriptome and protein levels. To achieve this goal, we have been developing protocols that utilize techniques including optogenetics, electrophysiology, and transcriptomic studies. Collaborations continue with intramural and extramural collaborators. Drs. Claudia Colina-Prisco and Rosario Jaime-Lara are leading this ongoing subproject. Sensory System Disturbances: Opioid use disorders, including misuse of prescription pain relievers, are a national crisis with devastating consequences, including a rapidly escalating number of opioid overdose-related deaths. The physiological mechanisms underlying pain, addiction, and their intersection are not fully understood. The purpose of this research is to study genomic changes across multiple phenotypes of pain, opioid use, and opioid use disorder. The goal is to improve understanding of the relationship between disturbances in sensory systems and disease. This includes substance use disorder-induced differences in thresholds and responses to taste, olfaction, and changes in pain perception. Projects have started and preliminary findings have been obtained. No publications are available for these projects yet.