Stress-driven potentiation of lateral hypothalamic synapses onto ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons causes increased consumption of palatable food

Eating highly palatable foods triggers a brain reward system involving dopamine, and this system becomes active when a person experiences stress or negative emotions.

In mice, social stress increases excitatory signals from the lateral hypothalamus to dopamine neurons that project to the medial prefrontal cortex, leading to higher dopamine release in that brain region and greater consumption of fatty foods.

In mice, weakening specific brain connections between the lateral hypothalamus and dopamine neurons blocks the increase in eating fatty foods that normally occurs under stress, showing that strengthening these connections is required for stress-induced overeating.

In mice, activating glucocorticoid receptors in a specific brain region causes changes in brain synapses and increases consumption of highly rewarding foods, just like social stress does.

In mice, exposure to social stress strengthens specific brain connections that drive increased eating of high-fat food.

In mice, electrically stimulating a specific brain pathway between the lateral hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area increases consumption of high-fat foods but does not change how much plain food they eat, showing this pathway directly triggers overeating of rewarding foods.