A role for lateral hypothalamic orexin neurons in reward seeking

Glenda C. Harris (), Mathieu Wimmer and Gary Aston-Jones
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Glenda C. Harris: University of Pennsylvania
Mathieu Wimmer: University of Pennsylvania
Gary Aston-Jones: University of Pennsylvania

Nature, 2005, vol. 437, issue 7058, 556-559

Abstract: Food and drug craving The activation of neurons in the lateral hypothalamus of the brain that contain the novel neuropeptide orexin may be responsible for the cravings experienced by both overeaters and drug addicts. A study in rats shows that these orexin neurons are strongly stimulated in proportion to the degree of food- or drug-seeking that animals exhibit in a conditioning experiment. Direct stimulation of these orexin neurons causes a relapse of drug-seeking behaviour, and a similar relapse was induced by direct administration of orexin into a major reward centre in the brain, the ventral tegmental area. These findings reveal some of the mechanisms of motivation and reward in the brain, and have implications for understanding and treating drug addiction and overeating.

Date: 2005
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DOI: 10.1038/nature04071

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