Seminar: "From Motivation to Metabolism: A Novel Circuit Modulating Feeding Behavior" - Valentina Vargas

Endocrinology and Animal Biosciences Proposal Defense Seminar:

"From Motivation to Metabolism: A Novel Circuit Modulating Feeding Behavior"

Valentina Vargas
PhD Student

Obesity is a major public health challenge driven by dysregulation of neural circuits that integrate metabolic need with reward and motivation. Understanding how motivational signals from reward-related brain regions influence traditional “feeding centers” in the brain is therefore critical to developing more effective interventions.
   
This proposal investigates a previously uncharacterized neural pathway, linking the nucleus accumbens to the lateral hypothalamus via the ventral pallidum. Using cell-type–specific viral tracing, molecular profiling, chemogenetic and optogenetic manipulation in mice, this work will define the cellular architecture of this pathway and determine its functional role in regulating feeding behavior under both standard and obesogenic conditions. By identifying a novel mechanism through which reward circuitry interfaces with hypothalamic feeding control, these studies aim to uncover new neural targets for treating compulsive overeating and obesity.