Topic: calcium fiber photometry

The globus pallidus externa (GPe) is a basal ganglia structure with a high content of astrocytes compared to neighboring brain regions. Apart from its well-known role in locomotor behavior, recent studies showed that the GPe is also involved in cognitive functions, motivated behavior and sensory integration. The vast majority of studies has focused on neuronal subpopulations in GPe, while the function of the numerically superior astrocytes remain elusive. Recently, we showed that astrocytes in GPe express dopamine D2 receptors (D2Rs), and their selective manipulation can have profound effects

Maternal obesity predisposes offspring to metabolic diseases. Insulin resistance and adiposity secondary to maternal calorie-rich high-fat diet consumption are considered key contributors to such developmental programming. Here, we show that non-nutritive sensory components of high-fat diet (HFD), beyond its hypercaloric, obesogenic effects, are sufficient to alter metabolic health in the offspring. To dissociate the caloric and sensory components of HFD, we fed dams a diet isonutritional to a normal chow diet but enriched with fat-related odors mimicking the sensory signature of a commonly us