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

我们正在研究肥胖和代谢障碍动物模型的感官科学和新陈代谢。 代谢障碍与感官科学： 肥胖率的上升与高口感、高能量、富含脂肪和糖的食物的供应增加有关。高能量食物的快乐驱动价值促进了它们的优先消费，这可能会导致卡路里摄入量增加和肥胖。味觉、嗅觉和其他化学感官系统对享乐加工和进食行为有贡献。因此，人们对味觉在肥胖中的作用越来越感兴趣，包括研究脂肪味觉及其相关嗅觉的生物介质，作为药物和营养干预的潜在靶点。 临床前研究对于测试我们不能在临床人群中测试的潜在的化学感觉机制是必要的。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电路。为此，我们正在研究饮食和肥胖对小鼠大脑中参与化学感觉和奖励的区域(即嗅球、嗅皮层和岛叶皮质)神经元动力学的影响。具体地说，我们将研究饮食对行为(例如，味觉偏好和嗅觉检测/识别)、神经元动力学(例如，神经元激活、神经元回路和神经元表型)以及转录组和蛋白质水平的影响。为了实现这一目标，我们一直在开发利用光遗传学、电生理学和转录学研究等技术的方案。继续与墙内和墙外的合作者进行合作。 Claudia Colina-Prisco博士和Marcel Vega博士领导着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，是一种全国性的危机，具有毁灭性的后果，包括与阿片类药物过量相关的死亡人数迅速上升。疼痛、成瘾及其交集的生理机制尚不完全清楚。这项研究旨在研究疼痛、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。其目标是提高对感官系统障碍和疾病之间关系的理解。这包括物质使用障碍导致的阈值和对味觉、嗅觉和痛觉变化的反应的差异。 项目已经开始，并已获得初步结果。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 studying 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 Marcel Vega 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. This research aims 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.