This article investigates the neural mechanisms underlying specific food preferences, focusing on high-fat diets (HFD) and high-sugar diets (HSD). The research identifies two distinct populations of neurons in the paraventricular thalamus (PVT) that selectively mediate the intake of HFD or HSD, respectively. Crucially, the study identifies the histamine H3 receptor (H3R) as a defining molecular marker for the PVT neurons that regulate fat consumption, particularly in response to orosensory cues like food texture. Functional experiments demonstrate that the H3R-G12/13 signaling axis specifically regulates the excitability of PVT HFD neurons, suggesting a potential therapeutic target for the precise management of fat consumption and obesity.

References:

• Zheng Y, Liao J, Fang Z, et al. Biased histamine signaling selectively gates fat preference[J]. Neuron, 2025.