A Hypothalamic Circuit that Modulates Feeding and Parenting Behaviors.

Across mammalian species, new mothers undergo considerable behavioral changes to nurture their offspring and meet the caloric demands of milk production. While many neural circuits underlying feeding and parenting behaviors are well characterized, it is unclear how these different circuits interact and adapt during lactation. Here, we characterized the transcriptomic changes in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) and the medial preoptic area (MPOA) of the mouse hypothalamus in response to lactation and hunger.

Housing mice near vs. below thermoneutrality affects drug-induced weight loss but does not improve prediction of efficacy in humans.

Evaluation of weight loss drugs is usually performed in diet-induced obese mice housed at ∼22°C. This is a cold stress that increases energy expenditure by ∼35% compared to thermoneutrality (∼30°C), which may overestimate drug-induced weight loss. We investigated five anti-obesity mechanisms that have been in clinical development, comparing weight loss in mice housed at 22°C vs.