Hypothalamic neuronal activation in non-human primates drives naturalistic goal-directed eating behavior
Leslie Jaesun Ha, Hyeon-Gu Yeo, Yu Gyeong Kim, Inhyeok Baek, Eunha Baeg, Young Hee Lee, Jinyoung Won, Yunkyo Jung, Junghyung Park, Chang‐Yeop Jeon, Keonwoo Kim, Jisun Min, Youngkyu Song, Jeong-Heon Park, Kyung Rok Nam, Sangkyu Son, Seng Bum Michael Yoo, Sung‐Hyun Park, Won Seok Choi, Kyung Seob Lim, Jae Yong Choi, Jee‐Hyun Cho, Youngjeon Lee, Hyung Jin Choi, Youngjeon Lee, Hyung Jin Choi
Abstract
Maladaptive feeding behavior is the primary cause of modern obesity. While the causal influence of the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) on eating behavior has been established in rodents, there is currently no primate-based evidence available on naturalistic eating behaviors. We investigated the role of LHA GABAergic (LHA GABA ) neurons in eating using chemogenetics in three macaques. LHA GABA neuron activation significantly increased naturalistic goal-directed behaviors and food motivation, predominantly for palatable food. Positron emission tomography and magnetic resonance spectroscopy validated chemogenetic activation. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed that the functional connectivity (FC) between the LHA and frontal areas was increased, while the FC between the frontal cortices was decreased after LHA GABA neuron activation. Thus, our study elucidates the role of LHA GABA neurons in eating and obesity therapeutics for primates and humans.