Cheon Deok-Hyeon, Park Sheejune, Park Jihyun, Koo MinSeo, Kim Hyun-Hyung, Han Seol, Choi Hyung Jin
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Exp Mol Med. 2025 May 1. doi: 10.1038/s12276-025-01451-y.
The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is a central hub orchestrating eating behavior through its complex cellular, anatomical and temporal organization. The LH is characterized by high heterogeneity and functional complexity, with many aspects still unexplored. Here we synthesize recent advances in understanding the role of the LH in eating regulation across multiple dimensions. At the cellular level, the LH contains diverse neuronal populations that contribute to distinct roles in behavior. Anatomically, we divided the LH into four regions-anteromedial, anterolateral, posteromedial and posterolateral-each with unique cellular compositions, circuit organizations and projection patterns. By integrating the temporal dynamics of each LH cell type during eating behavior, we identified how various LH cell types are involved in regulating the appetitive and consummatory phases of eating behavior. The LH also plays vital roles in associative learning and different types of eating behavior, including homeostatic, pleasure-induced and stress-induced eating. These insights into LH organization and function provide promising directions for therapeutic interventions in eating disorders and obesity, including drugs, deep brain stimulation and gene therapy.
外侧下丘脑（LH）是一个通过其复杂的细胞、解剖和时间组织来协调进食行为的中枢枢纽。LH具有高度的异质性和功能复杂性，许多方面仍未被探索。在这里，我们综合了在理解LH在多个维度的进食调节中所起作用方面的最新进展。在细胞水平上，LH包含多种神经元群体，它们在行为中发挥着不同的作用。在解剖学上，我们将LH分为四个区域——前内侧、前外侧、后内侧和后外侧——每个区域都有独特的细胞组成、神经回路组织和投射模式。通过整合进食行为期间每种LH细胞类型的时间动态，我们确定了各种LH细胞类型如何参与调节进食行为的食欲和进食阶段。LH在联想学习和不同类型的进食行为中也起着至关重要的作用，包括稳态性、愉悦诱导性和应激诱导性进食。这些对LH组织和功能的见解为饮食失调和肥胖的治疗干预提供了有前景的方向，包括药物、深部脑刺激和基因治疗。
