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Scientists identify neurons in mice that, once activated, can change body’s metabolic rate, induce hibernation-like state– www.sciencedaily.com
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A team led by researchers at Georgia State University has identified a novel group of neurons controlling the brain-heart-gut axis which can be activated to induce a hypometabolic state that resembles hibernation. The discovery could have wide-ranging impacts for scientific fields ranging from obesity to cardiometabolic health, and even space travel.

The new study is published in the journal Nature Metabolism.

Lead author Eric Krause is a professor of neuroscience, a Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) Distinguished Investigator at Georgia State University and a core member of the Center for Neuroinflammation and Cardiometabolic Disease (CNCD). Krause worked with researchers from the University of Florida and the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia.

“We identified this population of neurons located near the base of the skull that relay the sensation of mechanical stretch exerted on the gut and heart to the brain. When these neurons are activated, they seem to recreate the sensation of feeling full or having increased blood pressure,” Krause said. “We found that activating these neurons suppresses eating and lowers blood pressure, heart rate and whole-body metabolism.”

During the research, the team discovered that simultaneous, recurrent firing of these neurons in mice produces a torpor-like state, similar to that of animals in hibernation, characterized by reductions in cardiac output, body temperature and energy expenditure.

“We found that repeated excitation of the neurons decreased body mass and produced a hypometabolic state without inducing anxiety-like behaviors that are often observed with chronic stress,” Krause said. “This is changing what we know about body-to-brain communication and how profoundly it affects physiology and behavior.”