Meister Dept. of Neuroscience Div. The current project aims at elucidating the hypothalamic neuronal circuitries and mediators that participate in food intake and body weight regulation.
Food intake is controlled by specific neurons located in the hypothalamus.
A series of experiments have been designed, which aim at determining the neuronal circuitries and hypothalamic mechanisms by which leptin, a recently characterized circulating cytokine signalling factor produced by adipocytes, inhibits food intake and increases energy expenditure. The project combines the unique competence of two laboratories and is highly multidisciplinary. Obesity is a major contributing risk factor to leading causes of death, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers. The brain's critical role in regulating energy and fat balance has in the context of body weight regulation never been more apparent. The present research project is timely right and will provide new important information on how the hypothalamus regulates food intake and weight homeostasis.