Nutrient homeostasis — translating internal states to behavior

• Published in: Current opinion in neurobiology 2020-02, Vol.60 (C), p.67-75
• Main Authors: Münch, Daniel, Ezra-Nevo, Gili, Francisco, Ana Patrícia, Tastekin, Ibrahim, Ribeiro, Carlos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0959-4388; 1873-6882
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2019.10.004

•Animals develop nutrient-specific appetites depending on their internal state.•Different molecular nutrient-sensing mechanisms allow the brain to detect internal nutrient states.•Changing nutrient levels modulate specific neuronal circuits altering animals’ motivational state and chemosensory processing.•The nutrient state of the animal alters specific aspects of feeding and foraging behavior in discrete and hierarchical ways. Behavioral neuroscience aims to describe a causal relationship between neuronal processes and behavior. Animals’ ever-changing physiological needs alter their internal states. Internal states then alter neuronal processes to adapt the behavior of the animal enabling it to meet its needs. Here, we describe nutrient-specific appetites as an attractive framework to study how internal states shape complex neuronal processes and resulting behavioral outcomes. Understanding how neurons detect nutrient states and how these are integrated at the level of neuronal circuits will provide a multilevel description of the mechanisms underlying complex feeding and foraging decisions.