ArticleeLife2016
Hunger neurons drive feeding through a sustained, positive reinforcement signal.
Article in eLife, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 118 papers.
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Who cites it
118 citing papers in PubMed.
- Liraglutide restores impaired associative learning in individuals with obesity.Nature metabolism · 2023Trial
- A hypothalamic circuit links hunger to mesolimbic dopamine to drive feeding.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Neural circuits regulating activity-based anorexia.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Ventral pallidal GABAergic neurons control hedonic feeding and obesity.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Altered responses to ghrelin and food cues in AgRP neurons during pregnancy and lactation.Journal of neuroendocrinology · 2026Article
- Translational Perspectives on Binge-Eating: Insights from Animal Models.Current psychiatry reports · 2026Review
- Prefrontal cortex-to-hypothalamic outputs orchestrate cue-potentiated palatable food consumption via AMPKβ2 signaling.Cell discovery · 2026Article
- Short-chain fatty acids differentially regulate feed intake and hypothalamic appetite-related genes in layer-type chicks.Frontiers in physiology · 2026Article
- Differential effects of overexpression of mutant huntingtin and TDP-43 in agouti-related protein neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus in mice.Acta neuropathologica communications · 2025Article
- AgRP neuron activity enhances reward-related consummatory behaviors during energy deficit in mice.Communications biology · 2025Article
- Sleep need-dependent plasticity of a thalamic circuit promotes homeostatic recovery sleep.Science (New York, N.Y.) · 2025Article
- A food-sensitive olfactory circuit drives anticipatory satiety.Nature metabolism · 2025Article
- Striatal signaling tracks naturalistic short-term fluctuations in hunger-satiety.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
- Lateral hypothalamus and eating: cell types, molecular identity, anatomy, temporal dynamics and functional roles.Experimental & molecular medicine · 2025Review
- Neuronal Regulation of Feeding and Energy Metabolism: A Focus on the Hypothalamus and Brainstem.Neuroscience bulletin · 2025Review
- The association between metabolic syndrome components and cognitive function in community-dwelling middle-aged and older adults: the first wave result of a cohort study.Journal of health, population, and nutrition · 2025Article
- Novel neural pathways targeted by GLP-1R agonists and bariatric surgery.Pflugers Archiv : European journal of physiology · 2025Review
- Parallel gut-to-brain pathways orchestrate feeding behaviors.Nature neuroscience · 2025Article
- Role of Hypothalamus in Acupuncture's Effects.Brain sciences · 2025Review
- Potential role of glucagon like peptide 1 in taste receptors.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Review
58 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
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The neural mechanisms underlying hunger are poorly understood. AgRP neurons are activated by energy deficit and promote voracious food consumption, suggesting these cells may supply the fundamental hunger drive that motivates feeding. However recent in vivo recording experiments revealed that AgRP neurons are inhibited within seconds by the sensory detection of food, raising the question of how these cells can promote feeding at all. Here we resolve this paradox by showing that brief optogenetic stimulation of AgRP neurons before food availability promotes intense appetitive and consummatory behaviors that persist for tens of minutes in the absence of continued AgRP neuron activation. We show that these sustained behavioral responses are mediated by a long-lasting potentiation of the rewarding properties of food and that AgRP neuron activity is positively reinforcing. These findings reveal that hunger neurons drive feeding by transmitting a positive valence signal that triggers a stable transition between behavioral states.
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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.