Taste, metabolism, feeding behavior, & health
Artwork by Britya Ghosh, MSc
Specialized taste neurons (green) Brain (purple) This graphic illustrates how the taste neurons physically connect food to the brain: these cells are directly activated by specific chemicals in the environment (food/drink, represented by the tiny wine glass) and transmit this information through synaptic connections with other neurons in the brain to ultimately influence feeding behaviors. Lab Techniques:
-Drosophila genetics -Optogenetics & chemogenetics -Taste/feeding assays -Survival assays -Confocal microscopy -Immunohistochemistry -In vivo calcium imaging |
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The fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, is a powerful model organism in neurobiology research. The availability of various genetic tools allows us to manipulate specific genes in specific cells with temporal control. This includes the ability to activate or silence the activity of specific neurons at specific times, or visualize the activity of neurons.
Fruit flies have a smaller nervous system and shorter life cycle, but they still have complex and robust food-sensing, internal nutrient/energy sensing, learning/memory, metabolism, and feeding behaviors that are relevant to other animals, including mammals. In addition, the Drosophila melanogaster genome is ~60% homologous to humans, and many pathways in cellular biology are well-conserved. Our research is focused on understanding the neural circuits that connect food-sensing to feeding behaviour, and how this process is impacted by the metabolic state and health of an animal. How do specialized sensory cells detect chemicals in food?
Dr. Stanley's recent postdoctoral research in the Gordon Lab at UBC uncovered molecular and cellular mechanisms for salt and acid taste, and how these complex taste modalities direct feeding behaviors based on concentration and internal state. Ongoing projects will identify the expression and function of taste receptors in the specialized chemosensory cells on the fly 'tongue' and how the activity of these cells directs feeding behaviors. How is metabolism integrated with food-sensing to impact feeding?
Environmental sensory cues strongly influence feeding behaviors, but the internal sensing of energy and nutrient levels is another crucial factor that directs feeding by promoting hunger or satiety for specific foods. There have been significant advances in understanding the complex pathways of metabolism and physiology that contribute to states of hunger and satiety, and this research aims to specifically understand how hunger/satiety hormones and other metabolic signals are integrated within food sensory cues in the neural circuits that influence feeding. How does dysregulated food-sensing or metabolism impact health?
Dr. Stanley's previous research focused on understanding the impact of diet-induced metabolic dysregulation on the brain in relation to Alzheimer's disease and diabetes (see publications from the Holtzman Lab & Macauley Lab). Diet clearly has an impact on health, and the health of an animal alters its internal state, which can then affect feeding choices in a potentially 'vicious cycle'. A long-term goal of the lab is to connect our basic science research on the cells, molecules, and neural circuits involved in feeding back to disease states to learn how a disruption in the links between food-sensing and metabolism impact food intake and subsequent health. |