Objective Feeding behaviors represent a complex set of crucial for survival abilities required to meet upcoming nutritional demands. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, are widespread, difficult to treat and extremely dangerous, displaying the highest mortality rate of all psychiatric disorders and a very high relapse rate. Mechanisms of onset, progression and relapse of eating disorders are unknown. Feeding behaviors are regulated by hypothalamus, an evolutionary conservative brain region. While a role of neurochemically defined hypothalamic neurons in feeding has been recently studied, little is known about an adaptive regulation of hypothalamus by extrahypothalamic inputs. Further, it is not known how dynamic signaling in hypothalamus upon changing metabolic and environmental demands is organized to generate consistent adaptive behavior. The overarching goal of my proposal is to provide insight into neural mechanisms of healthy and pathological feeding behaviors. Combining optogenetics, electrophysiological recordings in transgenic behaving mice, Ca2+ imaging and fiber photometry, I will pursue 4 aims: (i) investigate role of neural circuitries that translate cognitive-related information to the lateral hypothalamus during adaptive feeding behaviors; (ii) characterize causal significance of top-down inputs from anxiety- and mood-related brain regions onto lateral hypothalamus in feeding, and study how changes in metabolic demands affect this signaling; (iii) study mechanisms and functions of fast, network oscillations-related and behavior-dependent signaling in hypothalamus; (iv) investigate how signaling in hypothalamus changes during development of anorexia nervosa symptoms and study consequences of optogenetically restored physiological signaling. This innovative and interdisciplinary approach will enable identification of neuronal circuits mediating feeding behavior in health and pathology, and thus gain insights into neuronal mechanisms of eating disorders. Fields of science engineering and technologymaterials engineeringfiberssocial sciencessociologydemographymortalitymedical and health sciencesclinical medicinepsychiatrymedical and health sciencesbasic medicinepathology Programme(s) H2020-EU.1.1. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme Topic(s) ERC-2017-COG - ERC Consolidator Grant Call for proposal ERC-2017-COG See other projects for this call Funding Scheme ERC-COG - Consolidator Grant Coordinator KLINIKUM DER UNIVERSITAET ZU KOELN Net EU contribution € 1 473 984,60 Address Kerpener strasse 62 50937 Koeln Germany See on map Region Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 Beneficiaries (2) Sort alphabetically Sort by Net EU contribution Expand all Collapse all KLINIKUM DER UNIVERSITAET ZU KOELN Germany Net EU contribution € 1 473 984,60 Address Kerpener strasse 62 50937 Koeln See on map Region Nordrhein-Westfalen Köln Köln, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00 MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV Participation ended Germany Net EU contribution € 401 015,40 Address Hofgartenstrasse 8 80539 Munchen See on map Region Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Research Organisations Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Participation in EU R&I programmes Opens in new window HORIZON collaboration network Opens in new window Other funding € 0,00
