Zona incerta neurons projecting to the ventral tegmental area promote action initiation towards feeding

Key pointsThe zona incerta (ZI) and ventral tegmental area (VTA) are brain areas that are both implicated in feeding behaviour. The ZI projects to the VTA, although it has not yet been investigated whether this projection regulates feeding.We experimentally (in)activated the ZI to VTA projection by using dual viral vector technology, and studied the effects on feeding microstructure, the willingness to work for food, general activity and body temperature.Activity of the ZI to VTA projection promotes feeding by facilitating action initiation towards food, as reflected in meal frequency and the willingness to work for food reward, without affecting general activity or directly modulating body temperature.We show for the first time that activity of the ZI to VTA projection promotes feeding, which improves the understanding of the neurobiology of feeding behaviour and body weight regulation.Both the zona incerta (ZI) and the ventral tegmental area (VTA) have been implicated in feeding behaviour. The ZI provides prominent input to the VTA, although it has not yet been investigated whether this projection regulates feeding. Therefore, we investigated the role of ZI to VTA projection neurons in the regulation of several aspects of feeding behaviour. We determined the effects of (in)activation of ZI to VTA projection neurons on feeding microstructure, food-motivated behaviour under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement, locomotor activity and core body temperature. To activate or inactivate ZI neurons projecting to the VTA, we used a combination of canine adenovirus-2 in the VTA, as well as Cre-dependent designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) or tetanus toxin (TetTox) light chain in the ZI. TetTox-mediated inactivation of ZI to VTA projection neurons reduced food-motivated behaviour and feeding by reducing meal frequency. Conversely, DREADD-mediated chemogenetic activation of ZI to VTA projection neurons promoted food-motivated behaviour and feeding. (In)activation of ZI to VTA projection neurons did not affect locomotor activity or directly regulate core body temperature. Taken together, ZI neurons projecting to the VTA exert bidirectional control overfeeding behaviour. More specifically, activity of ZI to VTA projection neurons facilitate action initiation towards feeding, as reflected in both food-motivated behaviour and meal initiation, without affecting general activity

Shanghaied into the future: the Asianization of the future Metropolis in post-Blade Runner cinema

The clichéd 1930–1950 Western cinematic images of Shanghai as a fascinating den of iniquity, and, in contrast, as a beacon of modernity, were merged in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. As a result, a new standard emerged in science ction lms for the representation of future urban conglomerates: the Asianized metropolis. e standard set by this lm, of a dark dystopian city, populated by creatures of all races and genetic codes, will be adopted in most of the representations of future cities in non-Asian cinema. is article traces the representation of Shanghai in Western cinema from its earliest days (1932– Shanghai Express) through Blade Runner (1982) to the present (2013– Her). Shanghai, already in the early 1930s, sported extremely daring examples of modern architecture and, at the same time, in non-Asian cinema, was represented as a city of sin and depravity. is dualistic representation became the standard image of the future Asianized city, where its debauchery was o en complemented by modernity; therefore, it is all the more seedy. Moreover, it is Asianized, the “Yellow Peril” incarnated in a new, much more subtle, much more dangerous way. As such, it is deserving of destruction, like Sodom and Gomorrah

The Blood Of Kings, A New Interpretation Of Maya Art

Anthropolog

THE USE OF ORAL HYDRATION IN THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN WITH ACUTE DIARRHEA IN PRIMARY CARE

The use of oral rehydration solutions (ORSs) for treating children with diarrhea is spreading in hospitals in Chile, but it has not yet been incorporated into routine primary care programs. We sequentially compared the effectiveness of an ORS, with 60 mmol/L of Na+, with the standard treatment for diarrhea used in primary care centers, in a study with 285 diarrheal children under 2 years of age who consulted a health center in a low-income periurban neighborhood of Santiago. When compared with the control group, the patients treated with ORS showed a significantly higher percentage weight gain in the first few days after treatment was begun, required fewer medical visits for follow-up treatment at other facilities (8.4 vs. 15.5%; p < 0.05), and experienced fewer episodes of subsequent clinical dehydration that needed rehydration (oral or intravenous) in emergency services (2.8 vs. 10.6%; p < 0.01). In addition there were no metabolic complications in either group. Our results reinforce the feasibility, efficaciousness, and safety of programs that use ORS at the primary care level and indicate that this is an effective method of preventing metabolic complications and reducing hospitalizations of children with acute diarrhea