Complementary lateral hypothalamic populations resist hunger pressure to balance nutritional and social needs.

ABSTRACT: Animals continuously weigh hunger and thirst against competing needs, such as social contact and mating, according to state and opportunity. Yet neuronal mechanisms of sensing and ranking nutritional needs remain poorly understood. Here, combining calcium imaging in freely behaving mice, optogenetics, and chemogenetics, we show that two neuronal populations of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) guide increasingly hungry animals through behavioral choices between nutritional and social rewards. While increased food consumption was marked by increasing inhibition of a leptin receptor-expressing (LepR^LH) subpopulation at a fast timescale, LepR^LH neurons limited feeding or drinking and promoted social interaction despite hunger or thirst. Conversely, neurotensin-expressing LH

SUBMITTER: Petzold A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10028225 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature