The paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus (PVT) controls goal-oriented behavior through its connections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). We previously characterized Glut2^aPVT neurons that are activated by hypoglycemia, and which increase sucrose seeking behavior through their glutamatergic projections to the NAc. Here, we identified glucokinase (Gck)-expressing neurons of the PVT (Gck^aPVT) and generated a mouse line expressing the Cre recombinase from the glucokinase locus (Gck^Cre/+ mice). Ex vivo calcium imaging and whole-cell patch clamp recordings revealed that Gck^aPVT neurons that project to the NAc were mostly activated by hyperglycemia. Their chemogenetic inhibition or optogenetic stimulation, respectively, enhanced food intake or decreased sucrose-seeking behavior. Collectively, our results describe a neuronal population of Gck-expressing neurons in the PVT, which has opposite glucose sensing properties and control over feeding behavior than the previously characterized Glut2^aPVT neurons. This study allows a better understanding of the complex regulation of feeding behavior by the PVT.

丘脑室旁核 (PVT) 通过其与伏隔核 (NAc) 的连接来控制目标导向的行为。我们之前对 Glut2 ^aPVT神经元进行了表征，这些神经元由低血糖激活，并通过其对 NAc 的谷氨酸能投射增加蔗糖寻找行为。在这里，我们鉴定了 PVT (Gck ^aPVT ) 的表达葡糖激酶 ( Gck ) 的神经元，并生成了一个表达来自葡糖激酶基因座的 Cre 重组酶的小鼠品系（Gck ^Cre/+小鼠）。离体钙成像和全细胞膜片钳记录显示 Gck ^aPVT投射到 NAc 的神经元大多被高血糖激活。它们的化学遗传学抑制或光遗传学刺激分别增加了食物摄入量或减少了寻求蔗糖的行为。总的来说，我们的结果描述了 PVT 中表达 Gck 的神经元的神经元群，与之前表征的 Glut2 ^aPVT神经元相比，它具有相反的葡萄糖传感特性和对进食行为的控制。这项研究可以更好地了解 PVT 对喂养行为的复杂调节。