Neuron Signaling in Metabolic Regulation

This book focuses on neuron signaling in the regulation of metabolism and body weight, and especially on methods used in these studies. Obesity and related metabolic syndromes have reached epidemic status, but still are no effective strategies for prevention and treatment. Body weight homeostasis is maintained by balanced food intake and energy expenditure, both of which are under the control of brain neurons. In the recent years, significant progress has been made in identifying specific neurons, neural pathways, and non-neuron cells in feeding regulation, as well as in delineating autonomic nervous systems targeting peripheral metabolic tissues in the regulation of energy expenditure and metabolism. This book reviews recent progress on important neuron signaling for body weight and metabolic regulation and the state-of-the-art methods that has been applied in this field, ranging from animal models with neuron-specific manipulations, pharmacology, optogenetics, in vivo Ca2+ imaging, and viral tracing. Readers will be exposed to latest research frontiers on neuron regulation of metabolism.

Key Features

• Explores the role signaling between neurons plays with respect to metabolism
• Documents how neurotransmitters affect the regulation of feeding
• Describes various methods and technologies used to study the neuronal control of metabolism
• Includes contributions from an international team of leading researchers.

Related Titles

Lim, W. & B. Mayer. Cell Signaling: Principles and Mechanisms (ISBN 978-0-8153-4244-1)

Feltz, A. Physiology of Neurons (ISBN 978-0-8153-4600-5)

Zempleni, J. & K. Dakshinamurti, eds. Nutrients and Cell Signaling (ISBN 978-0367-39307-6)

Dr. Qingchun Tong received his B.S. in Biology from Anhui Normal University in China in1996, and M.S. in Physiology from Shanghai Institute of Physiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences in 1999. He then moved to US and obtained his PhD in Neural and Behavioral Sciences from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in 2003. He expanded his PhD studies during his postdoc training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School during 2003-2009, where he used mouse genetics to study hypothalamic neurocircuits in metabolism and feeding behaviors related to obesity and diabetes. In 2009, he was recruited to the Institute of Molecular Medicine (IMM) of University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) and has remained as a faculty member ever since. Dr. Tong is currently Professor and Cullen Chair in Molecular Medicine at IMM of McGovern Medical School of UTHealth. He is also an adjunct faculty member of Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy of McGovern Medical School and the Endocrine Division of Department of Medicine at Baylor College Medicine.

Dr. Tong’s research focuses on brain control of feeding behaviors and metabolism. The current obesity epidemic and its associated metabolic syndrome have imposed unprecedented challenges to society and medicine, but with no apparent effective therapeutics. His research goal is to understand the fundamental mechanistic insights on key driving causes for defective feeding and body weight regulation, therefore providing conceptual and effective targets for prevention and treatment of eating disorders, obesity and its associated diabetes. Toward this goal, he employs animal models in combination with state-of-the-art techniques including electrophysiology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, neuronal tracing and in vivo live imaging to dissect key functional neurocircuits in the regulation of feeding, body weight and glucose homeostasis.

Dr. Tong has published over 70 peer-reviewed research articles and is frequently invited as a speaker at national and international conferences. He currently serves as active manuscript reviewers for numerous academic journals and an editorial board member of Molecular Metabolism and Obesity Medicine.