Amylin Modulates a Ventral Tegmental Area–to–Medial Prefrontal Cortex Circuit to Suppress Food Intake and Impulsive Food-Directed Behavior

Background A better understanding of the neural mechanisms regulating impaired satiety to palatable foods is essential to treat hyperphagia linked with obesity. The satiation hormone amylin signals centrally at multiple nuclei including the ventral tegmental area (VTA). VTA–to–medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) projections encode food reward information to influence behaviors including impulsivity. We hypothesized that modulation of VTA-to-mPFC neurons underlies amylin-mediated decreases in palatable food-motivated behaviors. Methods We used a variety of pharmacological, behavioral, genetic, and viral approaches (n = 4–16/experiment) to investigate the anatomical and functional circuitry of amylin-controlled VTA-to-mPFC signaling in rats. Results To first establish that VTA amylin receptor (calcitonin receptor) activation can modulate mPFC activity, we showed that intra-VTA amylin decreased food-evoked mPFC cFos. VTA amylin delivery also attenuated food-directed impulsive behavior, implicating VTA amylin signaling as a regulator of mPFC functions. Palatable food activates VTA dopamine and mPFC neurons. Accordingly, dopamine receptor agonism in the mPFC blocked the hypophagic effect of intra-VTA amylin, and VTA amylin injection reduced food-evoked phasic dopamine levels in the mPFC, supporting the idea that VTA calcitonin receptor activation decreases dopamine release in the mPFC. Surprisingly, calcitonin receptor expression was not found on VTA-to-mPFC projecting neurons but was instead found on GABAergic (gamma-aminobutyric acidergic) interneurons in the VTA that provide monosynaptic inputs to this pathway. Blocking intra-VTA GABA signaling, through GABA receptor antagonists and DREADD (designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drugs)–mediated GABAergic neuronal silencing, attenuated intra-VTA amylin-induced hypophagia. Conclusions These results indicate that VTA amylin signaling stimulates GABA-mediated inhibition of dopaminergic projections to the mPFC to mitigate impulsive consumption of palatable foods.