Role of Various Neurotransmitters in the Central Regulation of Food Intake in the Dorsomedial Nucleus of the Hypothalamus

In living organisms, the central control of nutrition is a highly complex and vital mechanism. Central control of nutrition occurs in various regions of the brain, with the hypothalamus being the most important of which is the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus controls feeding behaviors through neural circuits, specialized nuclei, and central neurotransmitters. Different hypothalamic nuclei involved in regulating food intake include ARC, PVN, LHA, VMH, and DMH. The DMH influences feeding behavior by modulating the activity of different neurotransmitters in the brain. This nucleus receives both orexigenic and anorexic inputs through neural connections with the ARC and other regions of the brain. Due to its location in the brain, the ARC has access to nutritional inputs from the circulation. Within this nucleus, there exist two distinct neuronal populations, namely NPY and POMC. Different inputs from circulation affect two neuronal populations in the ARC. These inputs are related to second-order neurons, including DMH. The DMH integrates these inputs and sends the final output to PVN and LHA. Therefore, DMH affects the central control of feeding regulation through these neural pathways.

Keywords:

Feeding , Hypothalamus , Dorsomedial Nucleus of Hypothalamus , brain neurotransmitters , Orexigenic , Anorexigenic