Hypothalamus-hippocampus circuitry regulates impulsivity via melanin-concentrating hormone.

ABSTRACT: Behavioral impulsivity is common in various psychiatric and metabolic disorders. Here we identify a hypothalamus to telencephalon neural pathway for regulating impulsivity involving communication from melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH)-expressing lateral hypothalamic neurons to the ventral hippocampus subregion (vHP). Results show that both site-specific upregulation (pharmacological or chemogenetic) and chronic downregulation (RNA interference) of MCH communication to the vHP increases impulsive responding in rats, indicating that perturbing this system in either direction elevates impulsivity. Furthermore, these effects are not secondary to either impaired timing accuracy, altered activity, or increased food motivation, consistent with a specific role for vHP MCH signaling in the regula

SUBMITTER: Noble EE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6820566 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature