Archives: Frank Meye

Meye lab

The neural circuits underlying stress eating

Our research focuses on afflictions of the nervous system in which reward seeking plays a key role, such as disorders of binge eating (ravenous intake of a lot of food in a short period of time) and drug addiction. These are prevalent problems that unfortunately can have very negative outcomes for those affected, as treatment options are often inadequate.

A particularly problematic feature of these conditions is their ‘relapsing’ nature. Patients can temporarily suppress undesirable behavior (e.g. the binge-eating), but unfortunately tend to remain vulnerable to triggers in the environment that rekindle it. Stressful events in particular can be potent triggers in this regard (i.e. causing stress eating of 'comfort foods').

One of the main goals of the lab is to understand how stressful events manage to have such a strong influence on reward systems of the brain to promote the intake of (food) rewards. To this end we perform research in rodents, who share with humans the evolutionarily conserved neural systems responsible for integrating information about stress and rewards. We strive to use the insights we obtain to devise intervention strategies to counteract dysfunctional brain circuit plasticity and excessive reward seeking.

Group members

Dr. Frank Meye

Throughout my career, I have been fascinated by how brains encode motivational drives, and how this process can go awry. The research of my lab focuses on the neurobiology underlying the interplay between stressed states (due to environmental stressors) and motivated (reward seeking) behavior. Our scientific approach is to use high-resolution neurophysiological measurement techniques to determine, in preclinical models, how stressors change the strength of specific synapses and circuits in the brain (particularly focusing on those linked to processes of motivation, reward, emotional states, and behavioral control). Furthermore we use brain stimulation techniques to gauge the causal contributions of such stress-driven brain changes for motivated (feeding) behavior. Thus by mapping, monitoring, and then mimicking/preventing/reverting specific effects of stress in these brain systems, we seek to ultimately understand the complex relationship between stress and motivated behavior.

reward systems, behavioral testing, electrophysiology, optogenetics, chemogenetics, fiber photometry

Karlijn Kooij

Postdoc

I research how dopamine-sensitive neurons in the prefrontal cortex are involved in impulsive behavior and palatable food intake. Additionally, I study whether these neurons are affected by a stressful event.

Operant conditioning, fiber photometry, chemogenetics, pharmacology

I.G. Wolterink-Donselaar

Research-technician

Practical assistance of PhD-students and Postdocs in their scientific careers.

Simone Duis

Research technician

Practical assistance of PhDs and postdocs

Louisa Linders

PhD candidate

My research focuses on unraveling Ventral Tegmental Area dopamine circuits involved in stress eating.

Ex vivo electrophysiology; patch clamp, (in vivo) optogenetics, local drug infusion.

Ioannis Koutlas

PhD candidate

My research aims at understanding how neuronal ensembles in the ventral tegmental area integrate information arising from aversive and rewarding experiences.

Behavior, chemo- and optogenetics, fiber photometry

Laura Supiot

PhD candidate

My research aims to define how the cortical control over feeding centers is altered by stress.

In vitro electrophysiology, optogenetics.

Wenjie Du

PhD candidate

Unravelling the role of opioid modulation of striatohypothalamic pathways in the context of stress eating

Electrophysiology, fiber photometry, optogenetics, chemogenetics

Roberto D’Angelo

PhD candidate

Studying cell function cell by cell.

Electrophysiology, optogenetics

Emel Souiki

PhD candidate veterinary medicine (supervised by Dr. Meye)

I'm interested in the impact of early-life opportunities such as play on rats' cognitive control and stress resilience, focusing on risk-taking during play. Specifically, I explore how the medial prefrontal cortex and its projections to the nucleus accumbens shape decision making in conflict situations and resilience against the unexpected. This project is a collaboration with Dr. Heidi Lesscher.

Behavioral paradigms, fiber photometry, ML models for automatisation of tracking and annotation, Python, MATLAB

Meye lab

Linders, L. E., Patrikiou, L., Soiza-Reilly, M., Schut, E. H. S., Van Schaffelaar, B. F., Böger, L., Wolterink-Donselaar, I. G., Luijendijk, M. C. M., Adan, R. A. H. & Meye, F. J.* (2022). Stress-driven potentiation of lateral hypothalamic synapses onto ventral tegmental area dopamine neurons causes increased consumption of palatable food. Nature Communications, 13(1):6898. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-34625-7. PMID: 36371405
Linders, L. E#., Supiot, L. F#., Du, W., D'Angelo, R., Adan, R. A. H., Riga, D.*, & Meye, F. J.* (2022). Studying synaptic connectivity and strength with optogenetics and patch-clamp electrophysiology. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23(19):11612. doi: 10.3390/ijms231911612. PMID: 36371405 # = equal contribution; * = corresponding authors
Koutlas, I., Linders, L. E., Van der Starre, S. E., Wolterink-Donselaar, I. G., Adan, R. A. H., & Meye, F. J. (2022). Characterizing and TRAPing a Social Stress-activated Neuronal Ensemble in the Ventral Tegmental Area. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.936087. eCollection 2022. PMID: 35874648
Montalban E, Giralt A, Taing L, Schut EHS, Supiot LF, Castell L, Nakamura Y, de Pins B, Pelosi A, Goutebroze L, Tuduri P, Wang W, Neiburga KD, Vestito L, Castel J, Luquet S, Nairn AC, Hervé D, Heintz N, Martin C, Greengard P, Valjent E, Meye FJ, Gambardella N, Roussarie JP, Girault JA. Translational profiling of mouse dopaminoceptive neurons reveals region-specific gene expression, exon usage, and striatal prostaglandin E2 modulatory effects. Mol Psychiatry. 2022 Apr;27(4):2068-2079. doi: 10.1038/s41380-022-01439-4. Epub 2022 Feb 18. PMID: 35177825
Omrani A, de Vrind VAJ, Lodder B, Stoltenborg I, Kooij K, Wolterink-Donselaar IG, Luijendijk-Berg MCM, Garner KM, Van't Sant LJ, Rozeboom A, Dickson SL, Meye FJ, Adan RAH. Identification of Novel Neurocircuitry Through Which Leptin Targets Multiple Inputs to the Dopamine System to Reduce Food Reward Seeking. Biol Psychiatry. 2021 Dec 15;90(12):843-852. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2021.02.017. Epub 2021 Feb 23. PMID: 33867112
Willems J, de Jong APH, Scheefhals N, Mertens E, Catsburg LAE, Poorthuis RB, de Winter F, Verhaagen J, Meye FJ, MacGillavry HD. ORANGE: A CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing toolbox for epitope tagging of endogenous proteins in neurons. PLoS Biol. 2020 Apr 10;18(4):e3000665. doi: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3000665. PMID: 32275651
Soiza-Reilly M, Meye FJ, Olusakin J, Telley L, Petit E, Chen X, Mameli M, Jabaudon D, Sze JY, Gaspar P. SSRIs target prefrontal to raphe circuits during development modulating synaptic connectivity and emotional behavior. Mol Psychiatry. 2019 May;24(5):726-745. doi: 10.1038/s41380-018-0260-9. Epub 2018 Oct 2. Erratum in: Mol Psychiatry. 2019 Jan 10. PMID: 30279456
Tan D, Nuno-Perez A, Mameli M, Meye FJ. Cocaine withdrawal reduces GABAB R transmission at entopeduncular nucleus - lateral habenula synapses. Eur J Neurosci. 2019 Aug;50(3):2124-2133. doi: 10.1111/ejn.14120. Epub 2018 Sep 6. PMID: 30118546
Meye FJ, Soiza-Reilly M, Smit T, Diana MA, Schwarz MK, Mameli M. Shifted pallidal co-release of GABA and glutamate in habenula drives cocaine withdrawal and relapse. Nat Neurosci. 2016 Aug;19(8):1019-24. doi: 10.1038/nn.4334. Epub 2016 Jun 27. PMID: 27348214
Meye FJ, Valentinova K, Lecca S, Marion-Poll L, Maroteaux MJ, Musardo S, Moutkine I, Gardoni F, Huganir RL, Georges F, Mameli M. Cocaine-evoked negative symptoms require AMPA receptor trafficking in the lateral habenula. Nat Neurosci. 2015 Mar;18(3):376-8. doi: 10.1038/nn.3923. Epub 2015 Feb 2. PMID: 25643299

Recent Papers

Meye lab