Topic: agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neurons

When animals explore, they choose to learn new information rather than exploit known information. This exploration is modulated by dopamine release in the striatum, a prediction-error teaching signal that allows animals to learn from both rewards and threats depending on the striatal subregion in which dopamine is released. Exploration and dopamine signaling are modulated by internal state, including caloric depletion or “hunger”, such that when animals are hungry they explore their environment more, presumably in an attempt to find food. While this adaptation has been known for decades, the n

Hunger is a complex physiological drive that affects mood and motivation of an organism to promote food consumption and restore energy balance. Agouti-related peptide (Agrp) neurons in the hypothalamus sense hunger and promote feeding, however when food is unavailable, Agrp neurons promote adaptive behaviours by reducing anxiety and increasing food-seeking. Thus Agrp neurons respond to environmental stimuli that convey information relevant to food seeking and food detection. Indeed, food detection and consumption suppresses Agrp neural activity assessed by fibre photometry. However, when forag