Reciprocal Control of Obesity and Anxiety-Depressive Disorder via a GABA and Serotonin Neural Circuit

Authors

Guobin Xia
Yong Han
Fantao Meng
Yanlin He
Dollada Srisai
Monica Farias
Minghao Dang
Richard D Palmiter
Yong Xu
Qi Wu

Publication Date

7-1-2021

Journal

Molecular Psychiatry

DOI

10.1038/s41380-021-01053-w

PMID

33767348

PMCID

PMC8505263

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

3-26-2021

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Post-print

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Agouti-Related Protein, Anxiety, Depression, Depressive Disorder, Humans, Obesity, Serotonin, gamma-Aminobutyric Acid, Neuroscience, Depression

Abstract

The high comorbidity between obesity and mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety, often exacerbates metabolic and neurological symptoms significantly. However, neural mechanisms that underlie reciprocal control of feeding and mental states are largely elusive. Here we report that melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) neurons located in the dorsal bed nucleus of the stria terminus (dBNST) engage in the regulation of mentally associated weight gain by receiving GABAergic projections from hypothalamic AgRP neurons onto α5-containing GABA