Cited by 155Regulation of Appetite and ObesityEating Disorders and BehaviorsNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Acts of appetite: neural circuits governing the appetitive, consummatory, and terminating phases of feeding

Open access
Alcantara, Ivan C., Tapia, Ana Pamela Miranda, Aponte, Yeka, Krashes, Michael J.·2022·Nature Metabolism

Abstract

The overconsumption of highly caloric and palatable foods has caused a surge in obesity rates in the past half century, thereby posing a healthcare challenge due to the array of comorbidities linked to heightened body fat accrual. Developing treatments to manage body weight requires a grasp of the neurobiological basis of appetite. In this Review, we discuss advances in neuroscience that have identified brain regions and neural circuits that coordinate distinct phases of eating: food procurement, food consumption, and meal termination. While pioneering work identified several hypothalamic nuclei to be involved in feeding, more recent studies have explored how neuronal populations beyond the hypothalamus, such as the mesolimbic pathway and nodes in the hindbrain, interconnect to modulate appetite. We also examine how long-term exposure to a calorically dense diet rewires feeding circuits and alters the response of motivational systems to food. Understanding how the nervous system regulates eating behaviour will bolster the development of medical strategies that will help individuals to maintain a healthy body weight.

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Crossref · 10.1038/s42255-022-00611-y

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  • The mesolimbic dopamine system is an evolutionarily conserved set of circuits that plays a role in approach and avoidance, appetitive behavior, and reward processing.

    “The mesolimbic dopamine system is an evolutionarily conserved set of circuits that plays a role in approach and avoidance, appetitive behavior, and reward processing (Wise, 2004; Everitt and Robbins, 2005; Alcantara et al., 2022).”

    From Ventral striatum dopamine release encodes unique properties of visual stimuli in mice (2023) · cites this paper as Alcantara et al., 2022

    The Abstract (page unavailable) links the mesolimbic dopamine system to food motivation, reward and food acquisition. The “LH-VTA-NAc feeding loop” section (page unavailable) describes food seeking under aversive conditions, but does not establish a general role in approach and avoidance. Neither passage establishes that the circuits are evolutionarily conserved. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Authors
Alcantara, I. C., Tapia, A. P. M., Aponte, Y., & Krashes, M. J.
Affiliations
National Institutes of Health (US)
Corresponding author
  • Aponte, Yeka
  • Krashes, Michael J.
Venue
Nature Metabolism
Published
2022-07-25
Volume
4
Issue
7
Pages
836-847
ISSN
2522-5812 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4287510211
Cited by
155
References
216
Citations by year
2026: 28 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 4
FWCI
4.58
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Nature Metabolism (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
Keywords
appetite, feeding circuits, neural circuits, food procurement, dietary intake, meal termination, hypothalamus, mesolimbic system, hindbrain, obesity, eating behaviour, body weight regulation
MeSH terms
Appetite, Body Weight, Diet, Feeding Behavior, Humans, Obesity

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