Protein kinase C mediates neuropeptide Y-induced reduction in inhibitory neurotransmission in the lateral habenula

Neuropeptide Y interaction with dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways: interlinked neurocircuits modulating hedonic eating behaviours

Independent from homeostatic needs, the consumption of foods originating from hyperpalatable diets is defined as hedonic eating. Hedonic eating can be observed in many forms of eating phenotypes, such as compulsive eating and stress-eating, heightening the risk of obesity development. For instance, stress can trigger the consumption of palatable foods as a type of coping strategy, which can become compulsive, particularly when developed as a habit. Although eating for pleasure is observed in multiple maladaptive eating behaviours, the current understanding of the neurobiology underlying hedonic eating remains deficient. Intriguingly, the combined orexigenic, anxiolytic and reward-seeking properties of Neuropeptide Y (NPY) ignited great interest and has positioned NPY as one of the core neuromodulators operating hedonic eating behaviours. While extensive literature exists exploring the homeostatic orexigenic and anxiolytic properties of NPY, the rewarding effects of NPY continue to be investigated. As deduced from a series of behavioural and molecular-based studies, NPY appears to motivate the consumption and enhancement of food-rewards. As a possible mechanism, NPY may modulate reward-associated monoaminergic pathways, such as the dopaminergic and serotoninergic neural networks, to modulate hedonic eating behaviours. Furthermore, potential direct and indirect NPYergic neurocircuitries connecting classical homeostatic and hedonic neuropathways may also exist involving the anti-reward centre the lateral habenula. Therefore, this review investigates the participation of NPY in orchestrating hedonic eating behaviours through the modulation of monoaminergic pathways.

Role of Habenula in Social and Reproductive Behaviors in Fish: Comparison With Mammals

Social behaviors such as mating, parenting, fighting, and avoiding are essential functions as a communication tool in social animals, and are critical for the survival of individuals and species. Social behaviors are controlled by a complex circuitry that comprises several key social brain regions, which is called the social behavior network (SBN). The SBN further integrates social information with external and internal factors to select appropriate behavioral responses to social circumstances, called social decision-making. The social decision-making network (SDMN) and SBN are structurally, neurochemically and functionally conserved in vertebrates. The social decision-making process is also closely influenced by emotional assessment. The habenula has recently been recognized as a crucial center for emotion-associated adaptation behaviors. Here we review the potential role of the habenula in social function with a special emphasis on fish studies. Further, based on evolutional, molecular, morphological, and behavioral perspectives, we discuss the crucial role of the habenula in the vertebrate SDMN.

Multi-level variations of lateral habenula in depression: A comprehensive review of current evidence

Despite extensive research in recent decades, knowledge of the pathophysiology of depression in neural circuits remains limited. Recently, the lateral habenula (LHb) has been extensively reported to undergo a series of adaptive changes at multiple levels during the depression state. As a crucial relay in brain networks associated with emotion regulation, LHb receives excitatory or inhibitory projections from upstream brain regions related to stress and cognition and interacts with brain regions involved in emotion regulation. A series of pathological alterations induced by aberrant inputs cause abnormal function of the LHb, resulting in dysregulation of mood and motivation, which present with depressive-like phenotypes in rodents. Herein, we systematically combed advances from rodents, summarized changes in the LHb and related neural circuits in depression, and attempted to analyze the intrinsic logical relationship among these pathological alterations. We expect that this summary will greatly enhance our understanding of the pathological processes of depression. This is advantageous for fostering the understanding and screening of potential antidepressant targets against LHb.

Inhibition Within the Lateral Habenula-Implications for Affective Disorders

The lateral habenula (LHb) is a key brain region implicated in the pathology of major depressive disorder (MDD). Specifically, excitatory LHb neurons are known to be hyperactive in MDD, thus resulting in a greater excitatory output mainly to downstream inhibitory neurons in the rostromedial tegmental nucleus. This likely results in suppression of downstream dopaminergic ventral tegmental area neurons, therefore, resulting in an overall reduction in reward signalling. In line with this, increasing evidence implicates aberrant inhibitory signalling onto LHb neurons as a co-causative factor in MDD, likely as a result of disinhibition of excitatory neurons. Consistently, growing evidence now suggests that normalising inhibitory signalling within the LHb may be a potential therapeutic strategy for MDD. Despite these recent advances, however, the exact pharmacological and neural circuit mechanisms which control inhibitory signalling within the LHb are still incompletely understood. Thus, in this review article, we aim to provide an up-to-date summary of the current state of knowledge of the mechanisms by which inhibitory signalling is processed within the LHb, with a view of exploring how this may be targeted as a future therapy for MDD.