Andrew Lutas

We are looking for a postdoc fellow to join the group. Focus on studying feeding-relevant slow dynamics in the brain using invivo microscopy approaches. Please share with anyone interested. Thank you. www.training.nih.gov/jobs/pdf-inf...

"The peril of preconceived narratives" in @cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social with @vdarcey.bsky.social in response to the fall out from our recent study that failed to show significant brain dopamine responses to UPF milkshakes similar to highly addictive drugs. authors.elsevier.com/c/1lYiE5WXUl...

The Neuroscience Dept at American University is hiring for a tenure-track position at the Assistant level with expertise in Computational Neuroscience. Apply by Sep 15:
american.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/AU/job/Main-...
#FacultyJobs #AcademicJob #Neuroscience #CompNeuro #AI #ComputationalPsychiatry

Sinner is looking strong. Entertaining Wimbledon final so far

3 years ago today was my last day at Beth Israel.

Sunday morning tennis before it gets unbearably hot.

This study would not be possible without the team effort from Danielle Lafferty, Jeremiah Isaac, Joelyz Wolcott, Amy Phan, and Lily Reck and the support of the NIH NIDDK intramural research program.

Coronal section of mouse pons showing central amygdala axons in the parabrachial and supratrigeminal areas. It also show the optic fiber implants above these axons.

Instead of just overriding satiety, this pathway commands a consummatory mode—mice eat pellets, lick air, whatever’s available—suppressing food-seeking in favor of ingestion. We think this is likely mediated by inhibition in the supratrigeminal region and disinhibition of orofacial motor neurons.

First preprint from our lab: How might the brain override fullness signals to allow feeding after you’re full?

We set out to test how central amygdala inhibitory neurons gate satiation/satiety signals in the pons.

Slow-Timescale Regulation of Dopamine Release and Mating Drive over Days The rise and fall of motivational states may take place over timescales as long as many days. We used mouse mating behavior to model how the brain orchestrates slow-timescale changes in motivation. Ma...

I am excited to share our preprint on how hypothalamic dopamine neurons govern slow changes in motivation over days! Below are our findings:

www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Basolateral amygdala dopamine transmits a nonassociative emotional salience signal https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.05.15.654323v1

An amazing talk today by @ardemp.bskyverified.social with precious advice on science and survival! Thanks Ardem for having @harvardmcb.bsky.social as the first stop of your seminar tour 🙏👏

Brainstem sensing of multiple body signals during food consumption Studies of body-to-brain communication often examine one stimulus or organ at a time, yet the brain must integrate many body signals during behavior. For example, food consumption generates diverse or...

I’m so excited to share our preprint on how brainstem neurons sense and integrate multiple body signals during food consumption. We imaged 1000s of neurons across the lateral parabrachial nucleus (LPBN) in behaving mice. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

An example of what we in the NIH Intramural program can accomplish. Excited to share our latest paper in close collaboration with Nick Ryba's group. We examined how inflammation transforms representation in somatosensory neurons to cause pain. Lots of surprises here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

After 21 years at my dream job, I’m very sad to announce my early retirement from the National Institutes of Health. My life’s work has been to scientifically study how our food environment affects what we eat, and how what we eat affects our physiology.

My favorite ion channel is truly ancient.

Cherry blossoms in a neighborhood on a sunny day.

At least it was a beautiful weekend of cherry blossoms before the coming week.

This cure for sickle cell anemia was made possible by NIH-funded research to turn the gene for fetal hemoglobin back on. It was done predominantly by NIH researchers, including intramural researchers on the NIH campus.

irp.nih.gov/catalyst/33/...

Parental origin of transgene determines recombination efficiency in GFAP-creERT2 mice https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.27.640655v1

a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on ALT: a cartoon says hey everybody an old man 's talking while bart simpson looks on

Bluetorial: The path to a new pain medication with little potential for addiction

Perhaps a good story to share with folks who want to learn about how biomedical research works and where advances come from.

Thalamic opioids from POMC satiety neurons switch on sugar appetite High sugar–containing foods are readily consumed, even after meals and beyond fullness sensation (e.g., as desserts). Although reward-driven processing of palatable foods can promote overeating, the n...

www.science.org/doi/10.1126/... very excited to share our latest work, out now in Science. Congratulations to Marielle who led our studies! And, all other authors - this was a wonderful collaborative effort

I’m thrilled to share our preprint presenting MORSE: a new way to simultaneously & quantitatively track patterns of neuromodulators/neuropeptides in vitro & in vivo using spatially multiplexed 3D imaging of 10+ green optical sensors on a microendoscope
biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.26.634931v1

Thrilled to share our latest research published in Nature Communications! Our new GRAB sensor of SNPF promotes discoveries in the dynamics and molecular regulation between neuropeptide and neurotransmitter release in vivo. Check out the full paper here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

YouTube video by Kempner Institute at Harvard University Rethinking Brain Mechanisms in the Light of Evolution with Paul Cisek

Rethinking Brain Mechanisms in the Light of Evolution with Paul Cisek youtu.be/CnT7jaQX4X8?... - if you want to understand what brains are for (and their functional organisation), this is the way... 👍👏

Absolute measurement of fast and slow neuronal signals with fluorescence lifetime photometry at high temporal resolution https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.01.10.632162v1

Acute and circadian feedforward regulation of agouti-related peptide hunger neurons Douglass et al. employ long-term, continuous fiber photometry to uncover new modes of agouti-related peptide (AgRP) neuron regulation in ad libitum, fasted, and circadian conditions. AgRP neuron activity exhibits a circadian rhythm, which controls daily feeding patterns through a neural circuit from the suprachiasmatic nucleus via the dorsomedial hypothalamus.

I’m excited to share my latest paper
@cp-cellmetabolism.bsky.social. HakanK and I recorded from AgRP neurons continuously for 1 month and found some exciting things during ad lib feeding, fasting and on circadian timescales www.cell.com/cell-metabol....

Science’s 2024 Breakthrough of the Year: Opening the door to a new era of HIV prevention A drug with a novel mechanism protects people against the AIDS virus for 6 months. It could speed the end of the epidemic—if those who need it most get access

'But that’s not the only reason Science has named lenacapavir its 2024 Breakthrough of the Year. The off-the-charts success of the drug as PrEP sprang from a basic research advance: a new understanding of the structure and function of HIV’s capsid protein, which lenacapavir targets'

2024: A Review of the Year in Neuroscience Feeling a bit wired

Cutting it a bit fine, but here’s my review of the year in neuroscience for 2024

The eighth of these, would you believe? We’ve got dark neurons, tiny monkeys, the most complete brain wiring diagram ever constructed, and much more…
Published on The Spike

Enjoy!

medium.com/the-spike/20...

Jimmy Carter, former U.S. president and peace activist, dies at 100 Carter was president from 1977 to 1981, but he was perhaps more famous for the life he led after he left office. He was one of the biggest advocates for peace, democracy and human rights.

BREAKING: Jimmy Carter has died at 100. The 39th president of the United States, who served from 1977 to 1981, was perhaps more famous for the life he led after leaving office — as an advocate for peace and human rights.

Read about his lasting legacy.