Food intake and energy homeostasis determine survival of the organism and species. Information on total energy levels and metabolic state are sensed in the periphery and transmitted to the brain, where it is integrated and triggers the animal to forage, prey, and consume food. Investigating circuitry and cellular mechanisms coordinating energy balance and feeding behaviors has drawn on many state-of-the-art techniques, including gene manipulation, optogenetics, virus tracing, and single-cell sequencing. These new findings provide novel insights into how the central nervous system regulates food intake, and shed the light on potential therapeutic interventions for eating-related disorders such as obesity and anorexia.
Keywords: Energy balance; Feeding behavior; Hypothalamus; Neural circuits.