2026-10-19 ブラウン大学
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.brown.edu/news/2026-10-19/hunger-alcohol-addiction
- https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822%2826%2901266-2
空腹はアルコール報酬を符号化する並列回路を活性化する Hunger recruits a parallel circuit encoding alcohol reward
Kavin M. Nuñez ∙ Lewis M. Sherer ∙ Anthony Walley ∙ … ∙ Gilad Barnea ∙ R. Steven Stowers ∙ Karla R. Kaun
Current Biology Published:October 19, 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.09.057
Highlights
- Hunger produces an early aversive-to-appetitive shift in ethanol memory
- An octopaminergic neuron, VUMa3(mx), mediates hunger-dependent ethanol memory
- VUMa3(mx) activity increases with hunger via positive feedback mediated by Oct/TyrR
- The γ2 lobe of the mushroom body is a hub for state-dependent ethanol memory
Summary
Internal states like hunger, pain, thirst, and arousal can bias behavior by affecting sensory and memory processing. Internal states are critical to understand in the context of alcohol addiction because they influence cravings, reinstatement, and relapse. Norepinephrine plays a key role in both hunger and alcohol-induced arousal and preference, but the circuit-level mechanisms through which it modulates the influence of hunger on alcohol preference are not well understood. We sought to address this using intersectional genetic tools for manipulating neurons expressing octopamine, the invertebrate analog of vertebrate norepinephrine. We identified a single octopamine neuron required for ethanol seeking only when Drosophila are food deprived. Hunger increased baseline activity in this neuron, thus making it more responsive to an odor cue previously paired with ethanol. A combination of genetic and connectome analyses revealed that the synaptic partners of this octopaminergic neuron form a functional module that acts on Drosophila memory circuitry. Thus, we show that hunger recruits a parallel circuit that drives learned ethanol preference, providing a neuronal framework through which internal state influences the expression of memory for ethanol-associated cues.
