Postnatal development of hypothalamic inputs to the dorsal vagal complex in rats

The hypothalamus is critically involved in energy homeostasis and is an appropriate focus for research investigating the central neural underpinnings of obesity, anorexia and normal food intake. However, little is known regarding pathways and mechanisms that convey relevant hypothalamic signals to the brainstem circuits that ultimately control ingestive behavior. This brief review highlights work investigating the postnatal development of hypothalamic inputs to the hindbrain dorsal vagal complex (DVC). Research findings indicate that these inputs are both structurally and functionally immature in newborn rats. The progressive postnatal maturation of descending projections to the DVC occurs in concert with newly emerging physiological and behavioral responses to osmotic dehydration, which inhibits gastric emptying and food intake in adult animals but not in neonates. The postnatal emergence of other intake controls might also reflect progressive engagement of DVC neural circuits, whose intrinsic components and output pathways are envisioned as being critical for initiating and terminating ingestive behavior.