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Kepczynski, M.

Publications and source records attributed to Kepczynski, M..

2 recordsLinked to original sources
bioRxiv2021

Rhythmic neuronal activities of the rat nucleus of the solitary tract are impaired by short-term high fat diet - implications for daily control of satiety by the brainstem

Temporal partitioning of daily food intake is crucial for survival and involves the integration of internal circadian states and external influences such as the light-dark cycle and the composition of diet. These intrinsic and extrinsic factors are interdependent with misalignment of circadian rhythms promoting body weight gain, while consumption of a calorie dense diet elevates the risk of obesity and blunts circadian rhythms. Since cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and cancer are comorbid with obesity, understanding the relationships between brain activity and diet is of pivotal importance. Recently, we defined for the first time the circadian properties of the dorsal vagal complex of the brainstem, a structure implicated in the control of food intake and autonomic tone, but if and how 24 h rhythms in this area are influenced by diet remains unresolved. Here we focused on a key structure of this complex, the nucleus of the solitary tract, and using a range of approaches, we interrogated how its neuronal and cellular rhythms are affected by high-fat diet. We report that short term consumption of this diet increases food intake during the day and blunts daily rhythms in gene expression and neuronal discharge in the nucleus of the solitary tract. These alterations in this structure occur without prominent body weight gain, suggesting that high-fat diet acts initially to reduce activity in the nucleus of the solitary tract, thereby disinhibiting mechanisms that suppress daytime feeding. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=137 SRC="FIGDIR/small/433567v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (38K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@243b7borg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@bd3886org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c9f427org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@bc52cd_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

neuroscience↗
bioRxiv2021

Daily orexinergic modulation of the rat superficial layers of the superior colliculus - implications for intrinsic clock activities in the visual system

The orexinergic system delivers excitation for multiple brain centres to facilitate behavioural arousal, with its malfunction resulting in narcolepsy, somnolence, and notably, visual hallucinations. Since the circadian clock underlies the daily arousal, a timed coordination is expected between the orexin system and its target subcortical visual system, including the superior colliculus (SC). Here, we use a combination of electrophysiological, immunohistochemical, and molecular approaches across 24 h, together with the neuronal tract tracing methods in rodents to elucidate the daily coordination between the orexin system and the superficial layers of the SC. We find the daily orexinergic innervation onto the SC, coinciding with the daily silencing of spontaneous firing in this visual brain area. We identify autonomous daily and circadian expression of clock genes in the SC, which may underlie these day-night changes. Additionally, we establish the lateral hypothalamic origin of orexin innervation to the SC and that the SC neurons robustly respond to orexin A via OX2 receptor in both excitatory and GABAA receptor-dependent inhibitory manners. Together, our evidence supports that the clock coordination between the orexinergic input and its response in the SC provides arousal-related excitation needed to detect sparse visual information during the behaviourally active phase.

neuroscience↗