Biology subjects

Krull, C.

Publications and source records attributed to Krull, C..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Functional remodeling of the parasubthalamic nucleus drives alcohol drinking escalation in dependence

The neurocircuitry changes mediating the development and maintenance of an alcohol use disorder are complex and dynamic. The parasubthalamic nucleus (PSTN), a small nucleus of the posterior lateral hypothalamus best known for suppressing appetite, is interconnected with brain regions disrupted in addiction; yet its potential role in the regulation of alcohol consumption had never been examined. Here we show that the PSTN exerts potent control over alcohol drinking in mice. Remarkably, the influence of endogenous PSTN activity on voluntary alcohol consumption switches from inhibitory to stimulatory upon induction of alcohol dependence. Among PSTN cells, Crh neurons represent a unique subpopulation that promotes alcohol drinking and fires more in dependent mice. Alcohol intake escalation driven by PSTN Crh neurons involves thalamic output and behavioral disinhibition. Based on our results, PSTN Crh neurons could represent a critical node in the brain circuitry overactive in alcohol addiction driven by reward seeking in humans.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Top-down regulation of ingestive behavior fragmentation

AbstractIn natural environments, animals rarely feed continuously to satiation; instead, feeding occurs in brief bouts separated by pauses. This fragmentation is thought to balance internal drives with external demands, yet its underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. By combining bidirectional neural activity mapping and behavioral phenotyping, we identify a projection from the dorsal subiculum (dSub) of the hippocampus to the mammillary body (MB) as a key regulator of this fragmentation. Activity along the dSub-MB pathway tracks and gates the duration of individual feeding bouts, independent of homeostatic state. A simple bistable attractor model captures both dSub-MB neural dynamics and associated behaviors across optogenetic and behavioral perturbations. Together, these findings identify a top-down circuit mechanism that implements action selection in a naturalistic setting.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2023

The parasubthalamic nucleus refeeding ensemble delays feeding initiation

The parasubthalamic nucleus (PSTN) is responsive to refeeding after food deprivation and PSTN subpopulations can suppress feeding. However, no study directly addressed the role of PSTN neurons activated upon food access resumption. Here we show that the ensemble of refeeding-activated PSTN neurons drastically increases the latency to initiate refeeding with both familiar and novel food but exerts limited control over the amount of food consumed by hungry mice. This ensemble also delays sucrose consumption but accelerates water consumption in thirsty mice. We next sought to identify which subpopulations of PSTN neurons might be driving these effects. We discovered that PSTN Tac1 neurons projecting to the CeA selectively suppress feeding initiation while PSTN Crh neurons surprisingly promote the consumption of novel, palatable substances. Our results demonstrate the key role of endogenous PSTN activity in the control of feeding initiation and identify PSTN subpopulations counteracting each others influence on consummatory behaviors.

neuroscience↗