A Light-Responsive Neural Circuit Suppresses Feeding. Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Light plays an essential role in a variety of physiological processes, including vision, mood, and glucose homeostasis. However, the intricate relationship between light and an animal's feeding behavior has remained elusive. Here, we found that light exposure suppresses food intake, whereas darkness amplifies it in male mice. Interestingly, this phenomenon extends its reach to diurnal male Nile grass rats and healthy humans. We further show that lateral habenula (LHb) neurons in mice respond to light exposure, which in turn activates 5-HT neurons in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN). Activation of the LHb5-HTDRN circuit in mice blunts darkness-induced hyperphagia, while inhibition of the circuit prevents light-induced anorexia. Together, we discovered a light-responsive neural circuit that relays the environmental light signals to regulate feeding behavior in mice.

published proceedings

  • J Neurosci

author list (cited authors)

  • Liu, H., Qu, N. a., Gonzalez, N. V., Palma, M. A., Chen, H., Xiong, J., ... Xu, Y.

complete list of authors

  • Liu, Hailan||Qu, Na||Gonzalez, Natalia Valdez||Palma, Marco A||Chen, Huamin||Xiong, Jiani||Choubey, Abhinav||Li, Yongxiang||Li, Xin||Yu, Meng||Liu, Hesong||Tu, Longlong||Zhang, Nan||Yin, Na||Conde, Kristine Marie||Wang, Mengjie||Bean, Jonathan Carter||Han, Junying||Scarcelli, Nikolas Anthony||Yang, Yongjie||Saito, Kenji||Cui, Huxing||Tong, Qingchun||Sun, Zheng||Wang, Chunmei||Cai, Xing||Lu, Li||He, Yang||Xu, Yong

publication date

  • July 2024