ArticlePloS one2015
Activation of the GLP-1 receptors in the nucleus of the solitary tract reduces food reward behavior and targets the mesolimbic system.
Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 102 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
102 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 151 citations in OpenAlex.
- Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease: The Past, Present, and Future.American journal of cardiovascular drugs : drugs, devices, and other interventions · 2022Pooled it
- Can GLP-1 Be a Target for Reward System Related Disorders? A Qualitative Synthesis and Systematic Review Analysis of Studies on Palatable Food, Drugs of Abuse, and Alcohol.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2020Pooled it
- Effects of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist dulaglutide on sexuality in healthy men: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study.EBioMedicine · 2024Trial
- Equivalent Increases in Circulating GLP-1 Following Jejunal Delivery of Intact and Hydrolysed Casein: Relevance to Satiety Induction Following Bariatric Surgery.Obesity surgery · 2016Trial
- Neuroendocrine regulation of adipose partitioning in polyendocrine metabolic ovarian syndrome: the gut-brain-adipose axis.Journal of endocrinological investigation · 2026Review
- Nucleus of the solitary tract regulation of cue-induced appetitive behaviors via midbrain dopamine neurons.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Article
- Review
- NTS Neural Subtypes and Satiety Pathways: taVNS as a Novel Neuromodulatory Intervention.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- Efficacy and safety of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists in pediatric obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Saudi journal of gastroenterology : official journal of the Saudi Gastroenterology Association · 2026Article
- Review
- Targeted Magnetic Nanodiscs for Wireless Causal Manipulation of Gut-Brain Circuits.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- GLP-1 at the Metabolic-Cognitive Interface: Reward, Affect, and Memory.Comprehensive physiology · 2026Review
- Altered eating experience during GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy: a sensory-liking-wanting framework for food preference and nutritional behaviour.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Review
- Revisiting food addiction in the era of GLP-1-based obesity pharmacotherapy via neural reward pathways linking feeding and substance use.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2026Review
- GLP-1 agonist liraglutide decreases operant methamphetamine intake in rats under conditions of short- but not extended-access to the drug.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Article
- Nutrition and Physical Activity in Optimizing Weight Loss and Lean Mass Preservation in the Incretin-Based Medications Era: A Narrative Review.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Obesity: assessment and treatment across the care continuum.Annals of medicine · 2025Review
- Neurobiological Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potential of Glucagon-like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists in Binge Eating Disorder: A Narrative Review.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- GLP-1 Receptor Agonists and Research to Treat Overeating and Substance Use Disorders.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2025Review
- Characterizing Brainstem GLP-1 Control of Sensory-Specific Satiety in Male and Female Rats Across the Estrous Cycle.Biological psychiatry · 2025Article
42 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
The gut/brain peptide, glucagon like peptide 1 (GLP-1), suppresses food intake by acting on receptors located in key energy balance regulating CNS areas, the hypothalamus or the hindbrain. Moreover, GLP-1 can reduce reward derived from food and motivation to obtain food by acting on its mesolimbic receptors. Together these data suggest a neuroanatomical segregation between homeostatic and reward effects of GLP-1. Here we aim to challenge this view and hypothesize that GLP-1 can regulate food reward behavior by acting directly on the hindbrain, the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), GLP-1 receptors (GLP-1R). Using two models of food reward, sucrose progressive ratio operant conditioning and conditioned place preference for food in rats, we show that intra-NTS microinjections of GLP-1 or Exendin-4, a stable analogue of GLP-1, inhibit food reward behavior. When the rats were given a choice between palatable food and chow, intra-NTS Exendin-4 treatment preferentially reduced intake of palatable food but not chow. However, chow intake and body weight were reduced by the NTS GLP-1R activation if chow was offered alone. The NTS GLP-1 activation did not alter general locomotor activity and did not induce nausea, measured by PICA. We further show that GLP-1 fibers are in close apposition to the NTS noradrenergic neurons, which were previously shown to provide a monosynaptic connection between the NTS and the mesolimbic system. Central GLP-1R activation also increased NTS expression of dopamine-β-hydroxylase, a key enzyme in noradrenaline synthesis, indicating a biological link between these two systems. Moreover, NTS GLP-1R activation altered the expression of dopamine-related genes in the ventral tegmental area. These data reveal a food reward-suppressing role of the NTS GLP-1R and indicate that the neurobiological targets underlying food reward control are not limited to the mesolimbic system, instead they are distributed throughout the CNS.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.