Bidirectional modulation of accumbens dopamine by MCH neurons during learning and consummatory behavior.

ABSTRACT: The formation of sensory cue-reward associations is essential for survival, but in the modern calorie-rich and advertising-intensive environment, such associations may become maladaptive - leading to negative health consequences such as obesity or diabetes. Recent research has demonstrated the importance of hypothalamic melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH)-expressing neurons in driving hedonically-motivated feeding and in forming these associations. The MCH system interacts with mesolimbic dopamine (DA) transmission, offering a potential mechanism for the effects of MCH neurons on hedonic feeding and associative conditioning. However, this interaction has not been fully characterized in vivo with modern approaches that offer high temporal and spatial resolution. We characterized MCH-

SUBMITTER: Potter LE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12157353 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature