Fig. 4: Fasting enhances BNST-mediated LHAVglut2 neuron recruitment.
From: Energy state guides reward seeking via an extended amygdala to lateral hypothalamus pathway
A Schematic of viral strategy. AAV-Syn-ChrimsonR-tdTomato was injected in BNST, and AAV-DIO-GCaMP8m was injected in LHA of Vglut2-Cre mice. A microendoscopic lens was implanted above the LHA. B Histological verification of tdTomato expression within the BNST. C GCaMP expression was observed in LHA in cells that were closely opposed to tdTomato+ axons under the lens. D Experimental schematic for combining two-photon imaging with optogenetic stimulation. E, F Example imaging plane (standard deviation projection) of LHAVglut2 neurons recorded in fed (E) and fasted (F) mice with cells outlined (top, 27.5 ± 8.2 cells per mouse). Heat maps show average response of all cells aligned to stimulation onset (bottom). Shaded area represents masked frames corresponding to light artifacts. G Average responses (±SEM) of all recorded neurons aligned to stimulation offset. H Average response immediately after the cessation of stimulation (3 frames, 400 ms) for neurons that were recorded in both fed and fasted conditions. Two-way ANOVA: main effect of Satiety: F(1,307) = 43.38, p = 1.96 × 10−10, main effect of Frequency: F(3,307) = 189.40, p < 1.0 × 10−15, Interaction: F(3,307) = 12.08, p = 1.71 × 10−7. Sidak multiple comparison test, ****p < 0.0001, #p = 0.07. n = 7 mice. Source data are provided as a Source Data file.
