Identifying Parabrachial Neurons Selectively Regulating Satiety for Highly Palatable Food in Mice

Food consumption is necessary for organisms to maintain metabolic homeostasis. Both extrinsic and intrinsic processes, relayed via intricate neural circuitry, orchestrate the initiation and termination of food intake. More specifically, there are functionally distinct neural circuits that mediate either homeostatic or hedonic suppression of feeding. Notably, being satiated is a positive feeling whereas food aversion is a negative feeling. While significant progress has been made toward elucidating neural circuitry underlying aversive appetite suppression in mice, the circuitry underlying homeostatic satiety is not fully understood. The lateral parabrachial nucleus (PB_L) is known as a node that regulates various sensory and visceral processes. Here, we identified and selectively labeled neurons in the caudal lateral region of PB_L (PB_cl) that are activated by consumption of condensed milk, chocolate Ensure, or peanut butter, which we refer to as PB_cl-palatable-food activated neurons (PANs). Specific optogenetic activation of PANs induced positive place preference but decreased the consumption of high-caloric foods such as condensed milk, whereas silencing these cells significantly increased condensed milk consumption in feeding assays. Thus, the PB_cl PANs revealed here represent a novel neural substrate regulating caloric-sufficiency mediated satiation.