Abstract
Emerging evidence indicates that the hypothalamus is a key regulator of the adaption of the central nervous system (CNS) to the changing environment in support of survival, the subsets of hypothalamic neurons acting as upstream regulators of brain regions classically considered as master determinants of CNS function, such as the cortex and hippocampus. The regulatory role of the hypothalamus in cortical and hippocampal functions is mediated via classical neuronal pathways and by the regulation of peripheral tissue output in the form of hormones and nutrients. We argue that when relationships between these brain regions and peripheral tissues are reconsidered based on these driving principles of health and survival, it is challenging to envision that long-lasting successful strategies to combat obesity can emerge from propagation of satiety and energy expenditure. We also assert that many hypothalamus-driven metabolic principles will have important implications for neurological and psychiatric conditions.
CV
Tamas Horvath is Professor and Chair of the Section of Comparative Medicine and Professor of Neurobiology and Obstetrics/Gynecology at Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut. He is also the Director for the Yale Program on Integrative Cell Signaling and Neurobiology of Metabolism. He received a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) degree from the Faculty of Veterinary Sciences in Budapest, Hungary, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree from the University of Szeged in Hungary. His research has been focusing on neuronal circuitries that support physiological and pathological homeostatic conditions, including processes associated with reproduction, energy metabolism and neurogeneration.
This lecture will take place on September 1, 2015 from 18:15 to 19:30 hours in lecture hall H1, Turmgebäude.
Host: Prof. Hendrik Lehnert
Department of Internal Medicine I
University of Lübeck
