Activation of a lateral hypothalamic-ventral tegmental circuit gates motivation

Across species, motivated states such as food-seeking and consumption are essential for survival. The lateral hypothalamus (LH) is known to play a fundamental role in regulating feeding and reward-related behaviors. However, the contributions of neuronal subpopulations in the LH have not been thoroughly identified. Here we examine how lateral hypothalamic leptin receptor-expressing (LH(LEPR)) neurons, a subset of GABAergic cells, regulate motivation in mice. We find that LH(LEPR) neuronal activation significantly increases progressive ratio (PR) performance, while inhibition decreases responding. Moreover, we mapped LH(LEPR) axonal projections and demonstrated that they target the ventral tegmental area (VTA), form functional inhibitory synapses with non-dopaminergic VTA neurons, and their activation promotes motivation for food. Finally, we find that LH(LEPR) neurons also regulate motivation to obtain water, suggesting that they may play a generalized role in motivation. Together, these results identify LH(LEPR) neurons as modulators within a hypothalamic-ventral tegmental circuit that gates motivation.