Neural mechanisms that control the rate of ingestion

Project Summary Food intake generates a succession of sensory signals that feedback to regulate appetite. These include the sight and smell of food; its taste and texture; and the detection of volume and chemical composition in the GI tract. While the function of these signals has long been studied at the level of behavior, we know little about how they are integrated in the neural circuits that control hunger and satiety. Here we propose to identify principles by which sensory feedback during a meal is integrated in the hindbrain to control feeding behavior. In Aim 1 we investigate motivational and circuit mechanisms by brainstem circuits regulate the consummatory phase of food intake. In Aim 2, we characterize the role of descending projections from the forebrain. In Aim 3, we test the hypothesis that local circuits in the brainstem gate the flow of sensory information arising from different organs. Together, these experiments will reveal how the brain integrates diverse ingestive signals to enable the moment-by-moment control of feeding behavior