Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism, Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Graduate Program in Biochemistry, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035, Brazil.
Program in Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism, Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA; Department of Biochemistry, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, SC, 88040, Brazil.
Pharmacol Res. 2019 Mar;141:303-309. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2018.12.024. Epub 2019 Jan 2.
Hypothalamic Agrp neurons are critical regulators of food intake in adult mice. In addition to food intake, these neurons have been involved in other cognitive processes, such as the manifestation of stereotyped behaviors. Here, we evaluated the extent to which Agrp neurons modulate mouse behavior in spatial memory-related tasks. We found that activation of Agrp neurons did not affect spatial learning but altered behavioral flexibility using a modified version of the Barnes Maze task. Furthermore, using the Y-maze test to probe working memory, we found that chemogenetic activation of Agrp neurons reduced spontaneous alternation behavior mediated by the neuropeptide Y receptor-5 signaling. These findings suggest novel functional properties of Agrp neurons in memory-related cognitive processes.
下丘脑 Agrp 神经元是成年小鼠摄食的关键调节者。除了摄食之外，这些神经元还参与了其他认知过程，如刻板行为的表现。在这里，我们评估了 Agrp 神经元在与空间记忆相关的任务中调节小鼠行为的程度。我们发现，激活 Agrp 神经元不会影响空间学习，但会通过修改后的 Barnes 迷宫任务改变行为灵活性。此外，使用 Y 迷宫测试来探测工作记忆，我们发现 Agrp 神经元的化学遗传激活减少了由神经肽 Y 受体-5 信号介导的自发交替行为。这些发现表明 Agrp 神经元在记忆相关认知过程中具有新的功能特性。
