Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.06.30.180646v1?rss=1 Authors: Garcia, A., Coss, A., Luis-Islas, J., Puron-Sierra, L., Luna, M., Villavicencio, M., Gutierrez, R. Abstract: Overconsumption of calorie-dense palatable foods, especially those with added sugars, is a contributing factor in the obesity epidemic. Although previous studies in mice have shown that GABAergic LHAVgat+ neurons evoke voracious eating, it is not known whether these neurons would be driving consumption by increasing palatability. Using optrode recordings, we measure sucrose palatability while VGAT-ChR2 transgenic mice performed a brief access sucrose test. We found that a subpopulation of LHAVgat+ neurons encodes palatability responses elicited by sucrose and that opto-stimulation of these neurons bias the intake towards the most palatable available tastant. In contrast, opto-self-stimulation of LHAVgat+ neurons convey a rewarding signal capable of enhancing the hedonic value of proximal stimuli. We conclude that LHAVgat+ neurons increase consumption by potentiating the palatability of the most proximal tastant available. These findings suggest that LHA GABAergic neurons could be a pharmacological target to modulate the palatability of caloric foods that produce obesity. Copy rights belong to original authors. Visit the link for more info