Objective
Recent decades have seen a rapid rise in the prevalence of obesity across the globe. This rise can be attributed, at least in part, to overconsumption of so-called junk foods, which are highly palatable and densely caloric. These foods, in particular, drive activity in the brain's mesolimbic circuitry. The mesolimbic system - primarily comprising dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens cells that they project to - responds to environmental stimuli, especially rewarding stimuli, to generate appropriate behaviour. These circuits are heavily implicated in drug addiction and, accordingly, obesity is increasingly being conceptualized along similar lines as other addictions, e.g. as involving dysfuncyion of reward processing. With respect to food responses, what is currently unclear is how the post-ingestive consequences associated with food, i.e. their caloric and nutritional content, interacts with the sensory qualities to drive mesolimbic activity and associated behaviours. In this proposal, I will use a behavioural model known as flavour-nutrient conditioning to explore the precise role for post-ingestive signals in motivated behaviour. This form of conditioning uses direct infusion of nutrients into the stomach to vary the caloric load associated with different taste/food stimuli. In Aim 1, real-time dopamine measurements will be made with fast-scan cyclic voltammetry while rats respond and/or receive rewards that have previously been conditioned with either intragastric nutrient (CS+) or intragastric water (CS-). In Aim 2, ex vivo tissue slices will be taken from rats at various times after the induction of flavour-nutrient conditioning so that the cellular correlates of this process can be determined using whole cell electrophysiology. Obtaining this grant will help me transition back into the European system after spending over 6 years as a postdoc in the US and will be an important step towards establishing my own laboratory.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: https://op.europa.eu/en/web/eu-vocabularies/euroscivoc.
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Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
FP7-PEOPLE-2013-CIG
See other projects for this call
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)
Coordinator
LE1 7RH Leicester
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.