Wednesday, August 20, 2025 8/20/2025

A gut-brain interaction controlling reward learning

Award Number: R01DK133823
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/05/2022
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2027

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A gut-brain interaction controlling reward learning - Project Summary/Abstract The functions and computations supported by changes in the activity of meso-striatal dopamine systems are some of the most heavily researched, and hotly debated, topics in modern neuroscience. Predominant theories propose that they support reinforcement learning by broadcasting prediction-error signals, encode stimulus salience, or generally motivate reward seeking by representing internal states. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that these systems have been shaped by natural selection to reinforce adaptive behaviors. Eating, or the pursuit of nutrients, is fundamental for survival, and previous work has demonstrated that striatal DA circuits are critical components of the neurobiological systems that support this behavior. Importantly, emerging research supports a model whereby midbrain DA populations receive signals from the gut about food content that modify their activity and contribute to food learning and motivation. However, the timescale over which these gut-derived signals modulate DA release, and how they interact with DA signals previously identified as critical for food reward learning and motivation, is largely unknown. Here, we propose to address these gaps in our knowledge by using state of the art techniques to 1) Identify the ensembles of neurons in midbrain dopamine populations that are recruited by post-ingestive signals to control food reward. 2) Characterize the ability of post-ingestive signals to modify reward learning via effects on dopamine release in subregions of the striatum. 3)Test the causal role of post-ingestive signals for dopamine control of food reward. To accomplish these aims, we have assembled a team including behavioral and systems neuroscientists with expertise in modern technologies for recording and manipulating genetically defined cell populations, translational neuroscientists with expertise in the neurobiology of appetitive behaviors, statisticians specializing in big-data analysis, as well as leaders in the field of computational neuroscience. Completion of these studies will provide an opportunity to integrate peripheral modulation of midbrain dopamine systems into current models of dopamine control of reward learning and motivation, and provide a foundation for future studies of peripheral-central dopamine contributions to multiple adaptive functions and disease states.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $364,794 )
2025	2025	VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY	300 TURNER ST NW	BLACKSBURG	VA	24060	MONTGOMERY	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	4	6/30/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$364,794
														Subtotal = $364,794

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $339,958 )
2024	2024	VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY	300 TURNER ST NW	BLACKSBURG	VA	24060	MONTGOMERY	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	3	6/20/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$339,958
														Subtotal = $339,958

Issue Date FY: 2023 ( Subtotal = $598,348 )
2023	2023	VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY	300 TURNER ST NW	BLACKSBURG	VA	24060	MONTGOMERY	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	001	2	8/28/2023	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$243,631
2023	2023	VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY	300 TURNER ST NW	BLACKSBURG	VA	24060	MONTGOMERY	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	2	6/1/2023	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$354,717
														Subtotal = $598,348

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $352,436 )
2022	2022	VIRGINIA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE & STATE UNIVERSITY	300 TURNER ST NW	BLACKSBURG	VA	24060	MONTGOMERY	USA	Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases Extramural Research	000	1	8/4/2022	NEW	$352,436
														Subtotal = $352,436

Grand Total All Awards = $1,655,536

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A gut-brain interaction controlling reward learning

Award Number: R01DK133823

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DIABETES & DIGESTIVE & KIDNEY DISEASES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/05/2022

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 05/31/2027

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