# GABAergic Cells in the Periaqueductal Gray Region Control Food-Seeking

> **NIH DK R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · 2026 · $546,971

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Abnormalities in feeding behaviors are a key symptom of several conditions, including binge-eating disorder,
anorexia and obesity. In order to develop novel treatments, it is imperative to gain a deeper understanding of the
circuits controlling adaptive feeding. Eating is affected by metabolic and hedonic features, and it consists of
several actions, including exploratory food-seeking and consumption. Despite its central clinical and biological
importance, networks controlling these behaviors are not well-understood. Prior data have indicated that
activation of several GABAergic inputs to the midbrain lateral and ventrolateral periaqueductal gray (l/vlPAG)
elicit hunting of insects in mice. However, the role of local l/vlPAG GABAergic cells in feeding is unknown.
Intriguingly, our preliminary data show that these cells encode food-seeking actions, such as approach to food
and consumption. Furthermore, activity in these ensembles, or of their projections to the subthalamic zona
incerta (ZI) are required for foraging leading to consumption of both prey and non-prey food. Here, we propose
to combine converging advances in neural activity recording, computational methods and molecular circuit
dissection tools to: 1. Characterize how l/vlPAG VGAT cells encode food sources and food-seeking behaviors
by recording the neural activity of large ensembles of cells with miniaturized microscopes. 2. Determine if activity
in the l/vlPAG circuit and their projection to the ZI is necessary and sufficient to promote foraging leading to
consumption, and 3. Dissect how the l/vlPAG input affects the ZI by combining ex vivo and in vivo recordings of
neural activity. Since prior reports show ZI activation induces feeding, we hypothesize that activation of the
inhibitory l/vlPAG input to ZI elicits feeding by disinhibiting the ZI. Importantly, feasibility for all proposed aims is
demonstrated in preliminary data and our prior publications, and we have successfully

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 11324596
- **Project number:** 5R01DK139605-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES
- **Principal Investigator:** Avishek  Adhikari
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** DK
- **Fiscal year:** 2026
- **Award amount:** $546,971
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2024-04-19T00:00:00 → 2028-03-31T00:00:00

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11324596

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 11324596, GABAergic Cells in the Periaqueductal Gray Region Control Food-Seeking (5R01DK139605-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-19 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/11324596. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*