Seminars and events

at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research and at cooperating institutes

Host: Dr. Henning Fenselau

Talk by Prof. Dr. Cristina García-Cáceres

Hypothalamic Astrocytes in Feeding Time Regulation
Prof. Dr. Cristina Garcia Caceres is a renowned Spanish neuroscientist known for her groundbreaking research in obesity and neuroendocrinology. She earned her Ph.D. in Madrid, Spain, and pursued academic internships at Yale University, USA, and Göteborg University, Sweden. Following her doctoral studies, she conducted postdoctoral research at Helmholtz Munich and TUM in Germany. In 2015, she established the Astrocyte-Neuron Network Unit at the Institute for Diabetes and Obesity. Currently, she holds the position of W2 professor at LMU and serves as the Head of Research and Deputy Director at the Institute for Diabetes and Obesity at Helmholtz Munich. For over 16 years, Prof. Dr. Garcia Caceres has focused on understanding how the hypothalamus controls energy balance, particularly through astrocytes. Her research aims to uncover the cellular mechanisms underlying obesity and metabolic disorders. Her pioneering work, awarded with ERC Starting Grant, has shown that the brain's control of energy and glucose metabolism involves astrocytes. By exploring the interactions between neurons, astroglia, and blood vessels, she seeks insights to inform strategies for obesity prevention and treatment, including associated conditions like hypertension. Additionally, her recent research extends to understanding how the brain integrates peripheral endocrine cues into hypothalamic circuits, critical for metabolic adaptation in diet-induced obesity. Overall, her discoveries challenge traditional obesity treatment models and underscore the importance of considering sex as a biological variable in addressing this health issue. [more]

Talk by Dr. Wenfei Han, MPI for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen

Gut-Brain Pathways and Parkinson’s pathology
Parkinson’s is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease affecting nearly 10 million people worldwide. The pathology appears to depend on the diffusion of abnormal aggregates of the endogenous α-synuclein protein across the nervous system. How the diffusion occurs remains controversial. Clinical evidence suggests that the gastrointestinal tract is a site of origin for α-synuclein, which then may spread to the brain. I will present studies in mice in which we tried to map the body-brain pathways via which the pathology may spread from the gut. I will also mention the potential role of gut immune cells in this process. [more]

Talk by Prof.Kazuhiro Nakamura, Nagoya University, Japan

Central neural network to defend life from environmental stresses
A variety of environmental stressors, such as temperature (hot and cold), infection, natural enemies, and starvation, can threaten life. To survive environmental stresses, mammals exert autonomic and behavioral responses as fundamental functions mediated by the CNS. Remarkable progress has recently been made in understanding the central circuit mechanisms of physiological responses to such stressors. A “trunk” neural pathway from the dorsomedial hypothalamus (DMH) to the rostral medullary raphe region (rMR) regulates sympathetic outflows to effector organs for homeostasis. Thermal and infection stress inputs to the preoptic area of the hypothalamus dynamically alter the DMH→rMR transmission to elicit thermoregulatory, febrile, and cardiovascular responses. Psychological stress signaling from the prefrontal cortex to the DMH drives sympathetic and behavioral responses for stress coping, representing a psychosomatic connection from the corticolimbic emotion circuit to the autonomic and somatic motor systems. Under starvation stress, medullary reticular neurons activated by hunger signaling from the hypothalamus suppress thermogenic drive from the rMR for energy saving and prime mastication to promote food intake. I will present a unified neural network for environmental stress responses, which provides novel insights into the integrative central regulation of organ functions that enables mammals to inhabit diverse environments on earth. [more]

Talk by Yoav Livneh, Ph.D., Weizmann Institute, Israel

Brain-body interactions: sensations and predictions in insular cortex
The brain and body are in a continuous dialog that is essential for our physical and mental health. Little is known about how this dialog is achieved at the neurobiological level. A large corpus of work implicates the insular cortex as a central node for bi-directional brain-body communication. However, direct evidence for its functional role is scarce. We developed a microprism-based cellular imaging approach to monitor insular cortex activity in behaving mice across different physiological need states. We combine this imaging approach with manipulations of peripheral physiology and related hypothalamic circuits to investigate the underlying mechanisms. I will first present our recent data suggesting that insular cortex population activity represents both current bodily states, as well as future predicted ones. I will then describe our current efforts to understand these predictions under conditions of conflicting physiological needs, and the potential role of these predictions in regulating bodily physiology. [more]

Talk by Prof. Tune Hannes Peers, University of Copenhagen

Leveraging human genetics to identify brain cell types modulating susceptibility to obesity.
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