Investigating Brain Circuits Linking Overeating with Obesity

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Investigating Brain Circuits Linking Overeating with Obesity

Investigating Brain Circuits Linking Overeating with Obesity
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Obesity not only impairs the quality of life and lifespan but is often associated with deficits in cognitive functioning—particularly working memory and behavior inhibition that can be associated with over-eating and other problems. 

Rachel Ross, M.D., Ph.D., has received a five-year, $2.6 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to study the role of specific brain circuits that affect cognitive behavior associated with hyperphagia (an extreme drive to consume food). Her laboratory has already identified a novel brain circuit that links neurons in the hypothalamus to neurons in the medial prefrontal cortex—a brain region involved in goal-oriented and habit-based behaviors and that also integrates external cues with cues inside the body. Using male and female mice, the researchers hope to show that the circuit linking the hypothalamus and medial prefrontal cortex is at least partly responsible for causing obesity, through subconscious decisions related to food intake or energy expenditure. This research may identify novel strategies for treating obesity. 

Dr. Ross is an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, of medicine, and in the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience at Einstein and is an attending physician at Montefiore. (1R01DK141837-01)