Topic: fibre photometry

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

The striatum intricately regulates motor and cognitive functions through the dynamic interplay of dopamine (DA), acetylcholine (ACh), and intrinsic neuronal firing, bearing profound implications for disorders like Parkinson's. However, the interaction between striatal DA and ACh, and their collective impact on striatal neuron activity in health and disease, are not fully understood. This study aims to elucidate the complex interplay between ACh, DA, and neuronal activity in the striatum during sensory and motor events. Utilizing a specialized Delayed-Go reaching task for head-fixed mice, we re

Stress is a physiological adaptive response towards physical and psychological stressors that can have profound impact on appetite. In addition to suppressing food intake, stress has also been shown to reduce reward seeking and cue-induced appetitive behaviours. Previous studies show that stress activates hindbrain nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) neurons and NTS neurons have been implicated in stress-induced suppression of food intake. However, whether NTS neurons mediate the effects of stress on cue-induced appetitive behaviours are unclear. Using behavioural, pharmacogenetic and neural m

Basolateral amygdala (BLA) principal neurons form distinct long-range circuits that mediate negative (via projections to the central amygdala) and positive (via projections to the nucleus accumbens) valence (Namburi et al., 2015). In a series of experiments using rats, we investigated the roles of these BLA pathways in Pavlovian fear learning. First, consistent with past work in mice, retrograde tracing showed that the two pathways were largely segregated; but, in contrast to past work in mice, single molecule FISH showed that these two pathways shared similar molecular profiles. Then, we used

Huntington’s Disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by severe motor disturbances resulting from neural network alterations, particularly evident in deficits in oculomotor functions during the prodromic stage. The superior colliculus (SC) plays a crucial role in integrating visual perception and oculomotor functions, and recent observations in the R6/1 HD mouse model from our group indicate affected connectivity between the M2 motor cortex (M2) and SC. To comprehensively assess changes in HD pathophysiology, we conducted fMRI-based functional connectivity analysis in 17-week