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| Poster #326 GRP Signaling in BLA-GRPR Neurons Regulates Feeding Patterns by Modulating Taste Palatability |
| Aylar Berenji Kalkhoran, Alfredo Fontanini, Arianna Maffei Dept. Neurobiology and Behavior, SUNY Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States |
Feeding is not solely driven by homeostatic needs but is influenced by multimodal aspects of food, including taste palatability. Alteration in palatability perception could be reflected in changes in feeding patterns typical of eating disorders such as obesity, binge eating, and overconsumption. The gustatory portion of insular cortex (GC) and the basolateral of amygdala (BLA) are implicated in the control of feeding and taste palatability, suggesting that the GC-BLA neural circuits could be a strong candidate for investigating the neural underpinnings of eating disorders. Informed by findings about the involvement of gastrin releasing peptide (GRP) in meal termination and of GRP receptor signaling in encoding the valence of sensory stimuli, we tested the possibility that the GC-GRP/BLA-GRPR circuit is involved in changes in feeding patterns attributable in shifts in palatability. We report that BLA neurons expressing GRPR are heterogeneous and receive a dense projection from GRP-expressing neurons in GC. Taking advantage of optogenetics combined with patch clamp, we investigated the effect of GRP modulation on both membrane properties of GRPR neurons and on evoked responses from GC terminal fields in BLA. Finally, we investigated the effect of local GRP infusion in GC on feeding patterns. These results identify a neuropeptide-defined circuit mediating direct GC-BLA interactions and regulating eating patterns. |