Tastekin I, de Haan Vicente I, Beresford R J, Otto N, Dempsey G, Waddell S, Ribeiro C
Behavior and Metabolism Laboratory, Champalimaud Research, Champalimaud Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.
Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3TA, UK.
bioRxiv. 2025 Aug 25:2025.08.25.671815. doi: 10.1101/2025.08.25.671815.
Nutrient state shapes not only what animals eat, but how they eat it. In , protein deprivation prolongs protein-specific feeding bursts, yet the motor mechanism underlying this change remains unknown. Using EM connectomics, we identified a feed-forward pathway from protein-sensitive gustatory receptor neurons to swallowing motor neurons. At its core is the Sustain neuron, which coordinates multiple swallowing motor neurons to move food efficiently through the cibarium and pharynx. This nutrient-dependent facilitation of swallowing sustains long feeding bursts, directly linking internal state to the temporal structure of feeding. Our findings reveal how a dedicated sensorimotor circuit translates physiological need into precise motor control to drive nutrient specific feeding appetite.
营养状态不仅决定动物吃什么，还决定它们如何进食。在蛋白质缺乏的情况下，蛋白质特异性进食爆发会延长，但这种变化背后的运动机制仍不清楚。利用电子显微镜连接组学，我们确定了一条从蛋白质敏感味觉受体神经元到吞咽运动神经元的前馈通路。其核心是维持神经元，它协调多个吞咽运动神经元，使食物有效地通过口腔前庭和咽部。这种依赖营养的吞咽促进作用维持了长时间的进食爆发，直接将内部状态与进食的时间结构联系起来。我们的研究结果揭示了一个专门的感觉运动回路如何将生理需求转化为精确的运动控制，以驱动对特定营养物质的进食欲望。
