BRAIN K99 project: Sofia Beas

National Institute Of Mental Health

Investigators

Abstract

Over the course of FY21, we concluded and published an independent research study that highlighted a previously neglected role for the paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) in driving goal-directed behaviors. In this study, we showed that the PVT is part of a brain circuit that promotes food-seeking behavior in response to chemically induced hypoglycemia (Beas et al., 2020). Specifically, this study implicated PVT projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a ventral-striatal region previously linked to goal-directed behaviors in food-seeking behavior. Notably, our findings highlighted the PVT as a critical node in the control of glucose homeostasis and answered long-standing questions regarding the neural mechanisms that underlie this process. Our recent publication supports proposals that the PVT is a candidate region for guiding motivated behaviors. However, the circuit and cellular mechanisms that contribute to different components of motivation such as behavioral activation and directionality remain unknown. Our ongoing research efforts are set on addressing this question. We believe that developing such a framework may provide insights into potential therapeutic targets for psychiatric diseases whose core features are motivational deficits.