Hyperactivity of a midbrain dopamine to 5-HT circuit causes anorexia

Authors: LIU, HAILAN - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC); CAI, XING - Kunming University Of Science And Technology; HE, YANLIN - Louisiana State University; XU, YONG - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Journal of Molecular Cell Biology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/24/2022
Publication Date: 5/24/2022
Citation: Liu, H., Cai, X., He, Y., Xu, Y. 2022. Hyperactivity of a midbrain dopamine to 5-HT circuit causes anorexia. Journal of Molecular Cell Biology. 14(5). https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjac035.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjac035

Interpretive Summary: Anorexia nervosa is a serious eating disorder that can lead to death. Scientists are trying to understand the causes of the disorder to find better treatments. They have found that certain chemicals in the brain, called dopamine and serotonin, are important for controlling eating behavior, and there may be a link between these chemicals and anorexia nervosa in humans. More research is needed to understand how they work together in the brain and to validate these findings in animal models.

Technical Abstract: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe eating disorder that can eventually lead to death, but effective therapies are missing due to a lack of knowledge about its pathophysiology. Dopamine (DA) neurons in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN) play essential roles in the control of eating and have been reported to be associated with human AN. However, this association has not been validated in animal models. In addition, how DA and 5-HT neurons interact with each other to contribute to the pathology of AN remains to be elucidated.