The neurons that spell hunger

摘要

Increasing activity of AgRP neurons in the hypothalamus drives food-seeking behaviours during calorie restriction. The source of the input that provokes this hunger response was unknown. Bradford Lowell and colleagues have now mapped the inputs into AgRP neurons in mice and find that the paraventricular nucleus, normally thought of as a satiety centre, contains orexigenic neurons that drive AgRP neurons and food-seeking, even when the mouse was otherwise sated. This work establishes specific populations of neurons in the paraventricular nucleus as drivers of a powerful hub within the feeding circuit.