Top-down control of sweet circuit by aversive taste memory
Molecular Biology and Physiology of Neurons and Glial Cells
Final Report Abstract
Protein is one of the most crucial nutrient for the development and growth of all animals, and for the maintenance of all physiological functions. Protein deficiency affects millions of adults and children in the developing world, with devastating health and social consequences. How do brain circuits respond to protein deficiency? And how do they help restore homeostasis? This project aims to uncover the neural basis for the behavioral attraction to amino acid and identify the interoceptive circuitry that senses low amino acids levels in the body, and, in turn, changes the animal’s behavior to selectively drive consumption of protein-rich food. In preliminary studies for this application, I showed that naïve protein-deprived animals showed a strong and selective attraction towards amino acids. Furthermore, I identified a neuronal cluster in the brainstem of mice that is activated in response to protein deprivation, and demonstrated that artificial activation of these neurons is sufficient to drive selective attraction to amino acid stimuli. Using endoscopic-based calcium imaging, I will then monitor the real-time neural dynamics of this neural cluster during protein deprivation and how its activity is modulated by amino acid consumption. Next, I aim to identify the input and output signals of this cluster and unveil how this circuit modulates animal’s behavior. This study will link the sense of taste with the internal state and with circuits driving motivated behaviors. and, therefore, will reveal the neural architecture and its regulatory mechanism for protein appetite.
