Regulation of Appetite and Obesity

Genomic and epigenomic mapping of leptin-responsive neuronal populations involved in body weight regulation

The paper maps genomic and epigenomic features of leptin-responsive hypothalamic neurons and identifies regulatory elements overlapping obesity-associated SNPs.

Tanycyte-independent control of hypothalamic leptin signaling

This study investigates tanycytic leptin receptor expression and function in mice, finding no detectable LepR in tanycytes and no effect of their deletion on hypothalamic leptin signaling.

Clinical and Functional Characterization of Melanocortin 4 Receptor genetic variants in African American and/or Hispanic children with severe early onset obesity.

The paper identifies MC4R mutations in African American and Hispanic children with severe early onset obesity, finding a 2.6% prevalence and three novel variants.

Ghrelin enhances food odor conditioning in healthy humans: an fMRI study

This study shows ghrelin increases reward prediction error activity and functional connectivity during food odor conditioning in humans, enhancing cue incentive salience and potentially contributing to obesity risk.

NKX2.1 is critical for melanocortin neuron identity, hypothalamic Pomc expression and body weight

This study shows that NKX2.1 is essential for Pomc expression in hypothalamic neurons and body weight regulation through its role in enhancer activity.

Dicer-miR-103/107 controls developmental switch of POMC progenitors into NPY neurons and impacts glucose homeostasis

Human POMC processing in vitro and in vivo revealed by quantitative peptidomics

The paper identifies β-MSH and desacetyl-MSH as major POMC-derived peptides in human hypothalamic neurons, suggesting their underappreciated role in obesity.

MicroRNA miR-7 and miR-17-92 in POMC neurons are associated with sex-specific regulation of diet-induced obesity

The paper shows miR-7 and miR-17-92 in POMC neurons regulate sex-specific diet-induced obesity through sex-differential gene expression.

Control of non-homeostatic feeding in sated mice using associative learning of contextual food cues

This paper develops a context-induced feeding task to study non-homeostatic feeding in mice and identifies brain regions involved in appetitive conditioning.

Rapid sensing of L-leucine by human and murine hypothalamic neurons: neurochemical and mechanistic insights

This study identifies novel Ca2+ signaling mechanisms by which hypothalamic neurons in mice and humans rapidly respond to L-leucine, showing both activation and inhibition of specific neuron types.

A predictive model of rats’ calorie intake as a function of diet energy density

This paper develops a predictive model for rats' calorie intake based on diet energy density and body weight, showing high accuracy in predicting intake patterns.

The Homeostatic Logic of Reward

The paper reviews theories of homeostatic control and evaluates their application to energy homeostasis, proposing a circuit that integrates physiological and behavioral regulation.

Central Role of Cognitive Control Networks in Weight Loss During Voluntary Calorie Restriction

The paper examines brain activity and hormone levels during calorie restriction, finding that prefrontal cortex activation correlates with weight loss, while hormonal changes do not significantly counteract it.

Restriction of dietary protein leads to conditioned protein preference and elevated palatability of protein-containing food in rats.

This study shows that protein-restricted rats develop a preference for protein-containing food and show increased palatability of protein compared to carbohydrate.

Orexin/Hypocretin Immunoreactivity In The Lateral Hypothalamus Is Reduced In Genetically Obese But Not In Diet-Induced Obese Mice

This study finds that genetic obesity, not diet-induced obesity, reduces orexin/hypocretin immunoreactivity in the lateral hypothalamus of mice.

Modulation of Body Mass Composition using Vestibular Nerve Stimulation

The paper suggests that vestibular nerve stimulation (VeNS) may reduce total body fat in humans and presents pilot data supporting this hypothesis.

Central Amygdala Circuits Modulate Food Consumption Through A Positive Valence Mechanism

This study identifies CeA Htr2a neurons as regulators of food consumption through positive valence mechanisms using in vivo activity manipulations and electrophysiology.

mTORC1 in AGRP neurons integrates exteroceptive and interoceptive food-related cues in the modulation of adaptive energy expenditure in mice

This study shows mTORC1 in AGRP neurons integrates food-related cues to control iBAT thermogenesis in mice, linking energy availability to adaptive energy expenditure.

Heterogeneity of hypothalamic Pro-opiomelanocortin-expressing neurons revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing

The paper uses single-cell RNA sequencing to reveal heterogeneity in murine hypothalamic POMC neurons, identifying distinct subpopulations with different gene expression profiles and receptor expression.