Neural circuitry at the intersection of feeding, reproduction, and emotion

Body weight is delicately controlled by circuitry in the brain that regulate food intake and energy expenditure. These circuits communicate closely with circuitry regulating reproduction and emotion (Figure 1) in a concerted effort to prioritize behavioral responses towards constantly changing internal and external needs. Impaired communication between metabolic circuitry and circuitry regulating reproduction and emotion is at the heart of multiple metabolic, reproduction, and psychiatric disorders, such as obesity, gestational diabetes, and  anorexia nervosa. Thus to develop more effective pharmacological strategies for metabolic and reproductive disorders, it is critical to understand the basic neural circuitry linking energy state to circuitry regulating emotional and reproductive behaviors.

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To study the neural circuitry linking energy homeostasis with emotion and reproduction we focus on the central melanocortin system, a well conserved circuitry in the brain with a critical role in controlling body weight and feeding behavior. The central melanocortin system is composed of "first-order" AgRP and POMC neurons located in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus. These neurons detect short term post-meal satiety signals (PYY, CCK, etc.) and long-term  hormonal signals of stored energy (i.e leptin and ghrelin), and communicate this information to a remarkably diverse group of downstream brain structures. Many of these downstream brain regions express the central melanocortin receptors, MC3R and MC4R, which directly respond to inputs from AgRP and POMC neurons. Current studies in the lab are focused on determining the function of these downstream MC3R and MC4R containing neurons in brain regions controlling motivation and emotion.