Galanin-Expressing GABA Neurons in the Lateral Hypothalamus Modulate Food Reward and Noncompulsive Locomotion
The lateral hypothalamus (LHA) integrates reward and appetitive behavior and is composed of many overlapping neuronal populations. Recent studies associated LHA GABAergic neurons (LHA ), which densely innervate the ventral tegmental area (VTA), with modulation of food reward and consumption; yet, LH...
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Published in | The Journal of neuroscience Vol. 37; no. 25; pp. 6053 - 6065 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
Society for Neuroscience
21.06.2017
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The lateral hypothalamus (LHA) integrates reward and appetitive behavior and is composed of many overlapping neuronal populations. Recent studies associated LHA GABAergic neurons (LHA
), which densely innervate the ventral tegmental area (VTA), with modulation of food reward and consumption; yet, LHA
projections to the VTA exclusively modulated food consumption, not reward. We identified a subpopulation of LHA
neurons that coexpress the neuropeptide galanin (LHA
). These LHA
neurons also modulate food reward, but lack direct VTA innervation. We hypothesized that LHA
neurons may represent a subpopulation of LHA
neurons that mediates food reward independent of direct VTA innervation. We used chemogenetic activation of LHA
or LHA
neurons in mice to compare their role in feeding behavior. We further analyzed locomotor behavior to understand how differential VTA connectivity and transmitter release in these LHA neurons influences this behavior. LHA
or LHA
neuronal activation both increased operant food-seeking behavior, but only activation of LHA
neurons increased overall chow consumption. Additionally, LHA
or LHA
neuronal activation similarly induced locomotor activity, but with striking differences in modality. Activation of LHA
neurons induced compulsive-like locomotor behavior; while LHA
neurons induced locomotor activity without compulsivity. Thus, LHA
neurons define a subpopulation of LHA
neurons without direct VTA innervation that mediate noncompulsive food-seeking behavior. We speculate that the striking difference in compulsive-like locomotor behavior is also based on differential VTA innervation. The downstream neural network responsible for this behavior and a potential role for galanin as neuromodulator remains to be identified.
The lateral hypothalamus (LHA) regulates motivated feeding behavior via GABAergic LHA neurons. The molecular identity of LHA
neurons is heterogeneous and largely undefined. Here we introduce LHA
neurons as a subset of LHA
neurons that lack direct innervation of the ventral tegmental area (VTA). LHA
neurons are sufficient to drive motivated feeding and locomotor activity similar to LHA
neurons, but without inducing compulsive-like behaviors, which we propose to require direct VTA innervation. Our study integrates galanin-expressing LHA neurons into our current understanding of the neuronal circuits and molecular mechanisms of the LHA that contribute to motivated feeding behaviors. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Author contributions: E.Q.-C. and H.M. designed research; E.Q.-C., S.Y., M.F., J.H., C.H., A.B.-K., D.B., H.-R.B., C.D.M., and H.M. performed research; E.Q.-C., S.Y., M.F., J.H., C.H., A.B.-K., D.H.B., H.-R.B., C.D.M., and H.M. analyzed data; E.Q.-C., S.Y., M.F., C.H., H.-R.B., C.D.M., and H.M. wrote the paper. |
ISSN: | 0270-6474 1529-2401 |
DOI: | 10.1523/jneurosci.0155-17.2017 |