Neural Control of Metabolic Physiology and Diseases (D4)

The central nervous system, including the hypothalamus in particular, is important for the control of energy balance and metabolic homeostasis. Current research continues to generate important new understanding of the molecular, cellular, and neural mechanisms underlying this control.

From a disease perspective, dysregulation of these processes appears to be crucial for the development and progression of the metabolic syndrome- including obesity, glucose intolerance/diabetes and hypertension- as well as the pathogenesis associated with aging. Recent research has begun to define and characterize the neural pathways involved in these processes.

This symposium will bring together breaking research advances from both the basic science and translational realms, including new knowledge of neural circuits, plasticity and signaling, as well as insights into roles for hypothalamic/brain pathways in disease development. Also importantly, several new areas will be addressed, including state-of-art technologies for neuroscience research, adult neural stem cells, neural degeneration, microglia, aging, and related alterations of metabolic resilience.