Food and Drug Rewards Are Processed by Unique Pathways in Mice

BrainPost, 9 July 2019

The motivation for natural rewards is mediated by both classic homeostatic circuits as well as mesolimbic dopaminergic circuits in the brain. It is not known how external rewards influence homeostatic circuits in the hypothalamus to alter behavior. Within the hypothalamus, agouti-related protein (AgRP-) and pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-expressing neurons play a key role in the control of food intake. The former subset of neurons is inhibited by food intake, while the latter subset of neurons is activated by food intake. Therefore, stimulating these subsets of neurons increases or decreases food intake, respectively. But does alcohol—a calorie-containing drug—use similar mechanisms to influence the activity of these hypothalamic neurons and food intake? Read more.