| Budget Amount *help |
¥4,940,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,140,000)
Fiscal Year 2017: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
Fiscal Year 2016: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
Fiscal Year 2015: ¥1,560,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥360,000)
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
Recent findings suggest that afferent vagal nerves are major neural pathways linking the gut with the brain. These pathways are important for interoception, the sensing of the internal state of the body. However, the links between the brain and vagal afferents in other visceral organs are unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we investigate the link between hepatic vagal nerves and emotional behaviours. The activation of hepatic vagal nerves by overexpression of the transcription factor PPARgamma in the liver alleviated the elevated anxiety in mice fed a high-fat diet (HFD). Our immunohistochemical analysis suggests that neuronal activities in the nucleus tractus solitarius and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis are influenced by the hepatic vagal nerve afferents. Collectively, our findings suggest that the hepatic vagal nerve transmits a signal from the fat-laden liver to brain regions that regulate anxiety.
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