Pregnancy and lactation induce profound physiological and behavioral changes to accommodate the increased energy demands.
Reproduction
Both stress and reward mechanisms modulate feeding.
Emotion
Food intake and energy expenditure are delicately calibrated by neural circuitry.
Homeostasis
Animals must constantly adapt their behavior in response to internal and external signals.
Feeding
Brains integrate gastrointestinal signals, energy states, and environmental cues to regulate food intake and body weight. Dysregulation of such circuitry is characteristic of many metabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as obesity, gestational diabetes, and anorexia nervosa. Our lab aims to understand the neurobiological basis of the regulation of feeding using mouse models.
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Pregnancy- and Lactation-Induced Hyperphagia
Pregnancy and lactation are unique cases of feeding regulation marked by increased energy demands for offspring development and nursing. To establish a profoundly different metabolic state, multiple aspects of the regulatory network must undergo substantial adaptation. Our previous studies have demonstrated significant alterations in meal patterns and sensitivity to gut satiety peptides in lactating mice. Our current projects investigate the neural mechanisms underlying lactation-induced hyperphagia by examining their transcriptional changes, neural activities, and behavioral outcomes of pharmacological manipulation.
Role of the Paraventricular Thalamus in Feeding
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is an integrative node that relays hypothalamic signals to higher-order regions to promote food seeking and other goal-oriented behaviors. PVT is recruited by food and food-associated cues through both excitatory and inhibitory modulations to drive food consumption. Our current project uses in vivo single-cell imaging to characterize specific the PVT’s response to hedonic and homeostatic feeding paradigms. In addition, we utilize single nucleus RNA-sequencing to identify molecularly distinct neuronal populations that modulate feeding behavior. The unique role of PVT at the intersection of convergent pathways sheds light on the bigger picture of homeostatic regulation.
Fiber photometry
Single nuclei RNA seq
Intragastric infusion
Miniscope
Immunohistochemistry
RNA in situ
hybridization
SWEENEY
LAB
SWEENEY LAB
SWEENEY LAB
Pregnancy and lactation induce profound physiological and behavioral changes to accommodate the increased energy demands.
Reproduction
Both stress and reward mechanisms modulate feeding.
Emotion
Food intake and energy expenditure are delicately calibrated by neural circuitry.
Homeostasis
Animals must constantly adapt their behavior in response to internal and external signals.
Feeding
Brains integrate gastrointestinal signals, energy states, and environmental cues to regulate food intake and body weight. Dysregulation of such circuitry is characteristic of many metabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as obesity, gestational diabetes, and anorexia nervosa. Our lab aims to understand the neurobiological basis of the regulation of feeding using mouse models.
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Pregnancy- and Lactation-Induced Hyperphagia
Pregnancy and lactation are unique cases of feeding regulation marked by increased energy demands for offspring development and nursing. To establish a profoundly different metabolic state, multiple aspects of the regulatory network must undergo substantial adaptation. Our previous studies have demonstrated significant alterations in meal patterns and sensitivity to gut satiety peptides in lactating mice. Our current projects investigate the neural mechanisms underlying lactation-induced hyperphagia by examining their transcriptional changes, neural activities, and behavioral outcomes of pharmacological manipulation.
Role of the Paraventricular Thalamus in Feeding
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is an integrative node that relays hypothalamic signals to higher-order regions to promote food seeking and other goal-oriented behaviors. PVT is recruited by food and food-associated cues through both excitatory and inhibitory modulations to drive food consumption. Our current project uses in vivo single-cell imaging to characterize specific the PVT’s response to hedonic and homeostatic feeding paradigms. In addition, we utilize single nucleus RNA-sequencing to identify molecularly distinct neuronal populations that modulate feeding behavior. The unique role of PVT at the intersection of convergent pathways sheds light on the bigger picture of homeostatic regulation.
Fiber photometry
Single nuclei RNA seq
Intragastric infusion
Miniscope
Immunohistochemistry
RNA in situ
hybridization
Brains integrate gastrointestinal signals, energy states, and environmental cues to regulate food intake and body weight. Dysregulation of such circuitry is characteristic of many metabolic and neuropsychiatric disorders, such as obesity, gestational diabetes, and anorexia nervosa. Our lab aims to understand the neurobiological basis of the regulation of feeding.
Neural Mechanisms Underlying Pregnancy- and Lactation-Induced Hyperphagia
Pregnancy and lactation are unique cases of feeding regulation marked by increased energy demands for offspring development and nursing. To establish a profoundly different metabolic state, multiple aspects of the regulatory network must undergo substantial adaptation. Our previous studies have demonstrated significant alterations in meal patterns and sensitivity to gut satiety peptides in lactating mice. Our current projects investigate the neural mechanisms underlying lactation-induced hyperphagia by examining their transcriptional changes, neural activities, and behavioral outcomes of pharmacological manipulation.
Role of the Paraventricular Thalamus in Feeding
The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) is an integrative node that relays hypothalamic signals to higher-order regions to promote food seeking and other goal-oriented behaviors. PVT is recruited by food and food-associated cues through both excitatory and inhibitory modulations to drive food consumption. Our current project uses in vivo single-cell imaging to characterize specific the PVT’s response to hedonic and homeostatic feeding paradigms. In addition, we utilize single nucleus RNA-sequencing to identify molecularly distinct neuronal populations that modulate feeding behavior. The unique role of PVT at the intersection of convergent pathways sheds light on the bigger picture of homeostatic regulation.
We employ a variety of approaches on mouse models, including molecular profiling, chemogenetics, in vivo calcium imaging, and behavioral assays.