Neural circuitry underlying cue-induced feeding

 描述（由申请人提供）：肥胖症的发病率上升是美国的一个巨大健康问题，与许多相关的健康问题（包括糖尿病和心脏病）相关，并且通过相关的医疗保健费用造成巨大的经济负担。肥胖是一种多因素疾病，环境因素在喂养行为的动机中起着重要作用。虽然已知环境线索可以通过巴甫洛夫机制增强进食，但这种现象背后的神经回路尚未被系统地分析。这项提议试图用一种新的方法来识别这种神经回路。 条件线索诱发摄食（CIF）任务。第一个具体的目标是利用功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）和立即早期基因（IEG）定位来表征在提示诱导的进食过程中所涉及的大脑区域。第二个具体目标是鉴定活化神经元的遗传特性，并在光遗传学和化学遗传学上沉默和/或活化这些神经元。这里描述的研究将揭示导致肥胖的进食行为背后的神经回路，并可能为潜在的治疗方法提供切入点。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The rising incidence of obesity is a huge health concern in the United States, is associated with a number of related health problems including diabetes and heart disease and is an enormous economic burden through associated healthcare costs. Obesity is a multifactorial disease, and environmental factors play a large role in motivating of feeding behavior. Although it is known that environmental cues can potentiate feeding through Pavlovian mechanisms, the neural circuitry underlying this phenomenon has not yet been systematically analyzed. This proposal seeks to identify this neural circuitry using a conditioned cue- induced feeding (CIF) task. The first specific aim is to characterize the brain regions involved during cue- induced feeding using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and immediate early gene (IEG) mapping. The second specific aim is to identify the genetic identity of activated neurons and to optogenetically and chemogenetically silence and/or activate those neurons. The research described here will shed light on the neural circuitry underlying feeding behaviors that lead to obesity and may provide entry points for potential therapeutics.