{"id":411832,"date":"2026-09-27T06:00:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/411832\/"},"modified":"2026-09-27T06:00:55","modified_gmt":"2026-09-27T06:00:55","slug":"usf-health-researchers-uncover-a-hidden-brain-region-that-helps-regulate-metabolism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/411832\/","title":{"rendered":"USF Health researchers uncover a hidden brain region that helps regulate metabolism"},"content":{"rendered":"

Study identifies the first known function of an understudied brain region that helps
\n coordinate how the body responds to cold temperatures and regulates metabolic health.
\u00a0
When the body\u2019s temperature falls, it adapts by burning more energy to generate heat
\n and triggering appetite to replace the fuel used to stay warm. \u00a0\u00a0
\u00a0
While scientists have known about those responses for decades, precisely how the brain
\n coordinates that process has remained unclear.\u00a0
\u00a0
New research led by USF Health\u2019s Dr. Yong Xu<\/a> uncovered new clues to that puzzle in a little-studied region of the brain.\u00a0
\u00a0
In a study published today in Neuron<\/a>, researchers working in non-human models identified a previously unknown brain circuit
\n that turns a drop in temperature into a coordinated response regulating eating, heat
\n production and energy use in the body.\u00a0
\u00a0
The discovery represents the first known function of a previously underexamined brain
\n region in the back part of the hypothalamus called the dorsal posterior periventricular
\n hypothalamic nucleus, or dPVp, a region that has received little attention by researchers.\u00a0
\u00a0
\u201cWe identified a very understudied brain region and then found the first function
\n for that brain region,\u201d said Xu, professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences<\/a> at the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine and director of the Center for Molecular Psychiatry<\/a>. “The basic function of the dPVp is to sense temperature fluctuations and then coordinate
\n a comprehensive set of behaviors or metabolic changes to deal with cold exposure.\u201d<\/p>\n

The study shows that dPVp functions as a cold-response control center in the brain,
\n becoming highly active when body temperatures drop and activating neurons that intensify
\n the desire to eat and increase the body\u2019s ability to up its heat production.\u00a0
\u00a0
To determine the region\u2019s function, researchers experimentally manipulated activity
\n of cold-responsive neurons within the dPVp, revealing its central role in coordinating
\n the body\u2019s behavioral and metabolic responses to cold exposure.\u00a0
\u00a0
Activating dPVp neurons produced unexpected metabolic effects, Xu said, increasing
\n the drive to consume more food while also burning more energy, helping prevent weight
\n gain and improve glucose regulation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The study also identified a biological \u201ccold sensor\u201d protein within dPVp neurons helping
\n brain cells detect the cold and coordinate the body\u2019s response. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Known as KCNK2 or TREK-1, this cold sensor offers researchers a potential new target
\n for developing drug therapies that could mimic the metabolic benefits associated with
\n a response to cold exposure.<\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of simply lowering food intake, this pathway may help the body use energy
\n more efficiently.”<\/p>\n

Dr. Hailan Lu<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the future directions is to use that as a drug target to try to develop highly
\n selective inhibitors for KCNK2 as a future medicine,” said Dr. Hailan Liu<\/a>, faculty member in the USF Health Center for Molecular Psychiatry and first author
\n on the study.<\/p>\n

The findings could hold long-term implications for treating obesity, type 2 diabetes
\n and other metabolic disorders. While many current approaches focus on reducing appetite,
\n future treatments could instead target the newly identified pathway to improve metabolic
\n function by helping the body burn and use more energy. \u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf successful treatments were developed targeting the cold sensor, we wouldn\u2019t have
\n to expose people to cold temperatures to achieve those benefits,\u201d Xu said. \u201cOne could
\n maintain metabolic health without dieting.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Study identifies the first known function of an understudied brain region that helps coordinate how the body responds…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-411832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}