How is Aponte's work related to our class?

Much of the work that Dr. Yeka Aponte has direct connections to the discussions we have in class. More specifically, her focus on neurobiological regulation on feeding behavior directly correlates with Lesson 26 on Ingestive Behavior. We discussed the circuits in the brain that control the short-term and long-term regulation of feeding behavior. Aponte observes in her lab different neural circuits that regulate the phases of short-term feeding behavior - food procurement, consumption, and meal termination (Alcantara et al., 2022), with the hopes of leading to the development of treatment that alleviates the stresses obesity has on the current healthcare system. Our study of these circuits revolve around the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and the arcuate nucleus but Aponte states that there are additional brain structures that play an important part in this process, such as the mesolimbic pathway (Alcantara et al., 2022). 

In addition to the focus on feeding behavior, Aponte does work on the neurobiological basis for addiction and substance abuse. In Lesson 27, we looked at how drugs affect the brain’s response to reward, particularly the feelings of liking and wanting something. Aponte focuses on the latter aspect of drugs and food, which causes addiction in patients. She also conducts work on what causes drug tolerance, something that we briefly discussed in NSCI-175. 

Her lab applies techniques that we only discussed in theory. Aponte and her peers do a lot of their research using optogenetics. In one example, Aponte and her team used optogenetic as a means to manipulate different neurons and examine the effects their inhibition of excitation had on a subject’s food intake (Siemian et al., 2021). We also talked about different experiments done using electrodes and recording patterns of electrical stimulation in brain regions in order to make conclusions. Once again, Dr. Aponte and her team make use of this technique on another level (Kisner et al., 2018).