Control of body weight by specialized brain-adipose loop neurons

Obesity is the most common metabolic disease in the developed world, and its comorbidities are leading causes of premature death and major economic burdens.

As current therapeutic interventions for obesity are often ineffective, there is an urgent need to develop more innovative strategies.

Convincing evidence suggests that obesity induces both metabolic adaptations and persistent changes in brain circuitry, which perpetuates an elevated body weight despite intervention. However, the mechanisms underlying this central and peripheral regulation remain elusive.

The emerging view is that the relationship between the nervous system and the adipose tissue is more intimate than anticipated.

In fact, the brain is connected to adipose deposits by bi-directional loop circuits that allow for information exchange. We know surprisingly little about these circuits.

I hypothesize that brain-adipose loop neurons – whose function has never been characterized – constitute specialized cell types that play a crucial role in the regulation of whole-body physiology, including energy management, body weight, metabolism, and mental health.

Here, I propose to uncover the role of loop circuits in behavior and homeostasis by using molecular and neurophysiological approaches.

Identification of new molecular targets along these routes will pave the way to developing more efficient interventions against body-weight related disorders.