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Dietary sugar inhibits satiation by decreasing the central processing of sweet taste.

Citation
May, C. E., et al. “Dietary Sugar Inhibits Satiation By Decreasing The Central Processing Of Sweet Taste.”. Elife.
Center University of Michigan
Author Christina E May, Julia Rosander, Jennifer Gottfried, Evan Dennis, Monica Dus
Keywords D. melanogaster, dopamine, neuroscience, satiation, sugar diet, Taste
Abstract

From humans to vinegar flies, exposure to diets rich in sugar and fat lowers taste sensation, changes food choices, and promotes feeding. However, how these peripheral alterations influence eating is unknown. Here we used the genetically tractable organism to define the neural mechanisms through which this occurs. We characterized a population of protocerebral anterior medial dopaminergic neurons (PAM DANs) that innervates the β'2 compartment of the mushroom body and responds to sweet taste. In animals fed a high sugar diet, the response of PAM-β'2 to sweet stimuli was reduced and delayed, and sensitive to the strength of the signal transmission out of the sensory neurons. We found that PAM-β'2 DANs activity controls feeding rate and satiation: closed-loop optogenetic activation of β'2 DANs restored normal eating in animals fed high sucrose. These data argue that diet-dependent alterations in taste weaken satiation by impairing the central processing of sensory signals.

Year of Publication
2020
Journal
eLife
Volume
9
Date Published
06/2020
ISSN Number
2050-084X
DOI
10.7554/eLife.54530
Alternate Journal
Elife
PMID
32539934
PMCID
PMC7297538
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