Professor Marc Tittgemeyer | State-dependent control of behaviour: Intersection of metabolic pathways with circuit mechanisms of motivated behaviour

Survival under selective pressure depends on the ability of our brain to use sensory information to our advantage to control physiological needs. To that end, neural circuits integrate external environmental cues and internal metabolic signals to form learned sensory associations, consequently motivating our behaviour. In the talk, I will discuss how the brain represents, integrates and prioritizes metabolic and external signals to initiate appropriate behavioural and physiological responses, focusing on circuit-level mechanisms, metabolic pathways and motivated behaviour related to maintaining energy homeostasis. At the example of food intake regulation (or dysregulation in individuals with obesity), I demonstrate how metabolic signals can act as neuromodulators to adapt our behaviour to interoceptive state, rendering classically assumed behavioural traits, such as impulsivity and motivation, or cognitive functions state-dependent.