A light-responsive neural circuit suppresses feeding

Authors: LIU, HAILAN - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); QU, NA - HUAZHONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY; GONZALEZ, NATALIA - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY; PALMA, MARCO - TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY; CHEN, HUAMIN - CHINA UNIVERSITY OF GEOSCIENCES; XIONG, JIANI - CHINA UNIVERSITY OF GEOSCIENCES; CHOUBEY, ABHINAV - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE; LI, YONGXIANG - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); LI, XIN - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE; YU, MENG - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); LIU, HESONG - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); TU, LONGLONG - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); ZHANG, NAN - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); YIN, NA - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); CONDE, KRISTINE - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); WANG, MENGJIE - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); BEAN, JONATHAN - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); HAN, JUNYING - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); SCARCELLI, NIKOLAS - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); YANG, YONGJIE - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); SAITO, KENJI - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA; CUI, HUXING - UNIVERSITY OF IOWA; TONG, QINGCHUN - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER; SUN, ZHENG - BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE; WANG, CHUNMEI - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); HE, YANG - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC); XU, YONG - CHILDREN'S NUTRITION RESEARCH CENTER (CNRC)

Submitted to: Journal of Neuroscience
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/24/2024
Publication Date: 7/24/2024
Citation: Liu, H., Qu, N., Gonzalez, N., Palma, M.A., Chen, H., Xiong, J., Choubey, A., Li, Y., Li, X., Yu, M., Liu, H., Tu, L., Zhang, N., Yin, N., Conde, K.M., Wang, M., Bean, J., Han, J., Scarcelli, N.A., Yang, Y., Saito, K., Cui, H., Tong, Q., Sun, Z., Wang, C., He, Y., Xu, Y. 2024. A light-responsive neural circuit suppresses feeding. Journal of Neuroscience. 44(30). Article e2192232024. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2192-23.2024.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2192-23.2024

Interpretive Summary: Light plays a crucial role in various physiological processes like vision, mood, and blood sugar regulation. However, its effect on feeding behavior has been less understood. This study found that light exposure decreases food intake while darkness increases it in male mice. This effect was also observed in diurnal male Nile grass rats and healthy humans. The researchers discovered that light activates lateral habenula (LHb) neurons in mice, which then stimulate serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN). Activating this LHb>5-HT^DRN circuit reduces the increased eating caused by darkness, while inhibiting it prevents the reduced eating caused by light. Overall, the study identified a neural circuit that helps regulate feeding behavior in response to light exposure.

Technical Abstract: Light plays an essential role in a variety of physiological processes, including vision, mood, and glucose homeostasis. However, the intricate relationship between light and an animal's feeding behavior has remained elusive. Here, we found that light exposure suppresses food intake, whereas darkness amplifies it in male mice. Interestingly, this phenomenon extends its reach to diurnal male Nile grass rats and healthy humans. We further show that lateral habenula (LHb) neurons in mice respond to light exposure, which in turn activates 5-HT neurons in the dorsal Raphe nucleus (DRN). Activation of the LHb>5-HT^DRN circuit in mice blunts darkness-induced hyperphagia, while inhibition of the circuit prevents light-induced anorexia. Together, we discovered a light-responsive neural circuit that relays the environmental light signals to regulate feeding behavior in mice.