Researchers

Obesity is a complex condition marked by increased food motivation and persistent overeating, driven in part by adaptations in brain circuits that regulate food seeking. While prior work has identified synaptic changes associated with diet-induced obesity, it remains unclear how these changes persist or drive long-term weight gain. Most studies capture a single time point, limiting insight into how circuits evolve as weight fluctuates. Our lab addresses this by examining neural circuits longitudinally across weight gain and loss to determine how obesogenic diets produce lasting changes in behavior and brain function.