Work

Automated temporal analysis reveals stress-induced protracted feeding regulated by mesolimbic dopamine in mice

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Feeding behavior is altered in neuropsychiatric disorders, and environmental stressors also shape it. In our previous study, mice exposed to multiple stressors developed feeding behavior patterns characterized by a deviated bait approach, which we defined as "fixated feeding," together with impairment of the mesolimbic dopamine system. Here we examined the temporal organization of feeding behavior using an AI-based analytical framework built on DeepLabCut and SimBA. Mice subjected to social isolation or intermittent high-fat diet (HFD) exposure showed prolonged feeding bouts, a pattern we define as "protracted feeding." Dopamine administration into the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) shell attenuated diet- and isolation-induced protracted feeding. Physical restraint stress alone did not induce protracted feeding, but mosapride treatment prolonged feeding bouts in restrained mice. Restraint-associated peripheral autonomic and gastrointestinal states may therefore influence the expression of stress-related temporal feeding deviations. In the VTA-DREADD cohort, the same temporal analysis showed that inhibition of VTA dopaminergic activity prolonged feeding bouts. This extends the fixated-feeding circuit framework from the spatial to the temporal domain. These deviations were not consistently accompanied by changes in the amount consumed or in metabolic factors, so alterations in temporal feeding patterns may reflect perturbation of a stress-associated pathway in the mesolimbic dopamine system. Protracted feeding, together with fixated feeding, may serve as a candidate behavioral readout of stress-associated reward-system dysfunction.

Source: Frontiers in Neuroscience

DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2026.1959447

Authors: Xiaokai Guo, Yusuke Fujioka, Kaori Kawai, Shinsuke Ishigaki

Institutions: Shiga University of Medical Science, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Center for Development of Advanced Medicine for Dementia, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology

Language: English

Topic: Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior

Subfield: Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Field: Neuroscience

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801