Abstract

Fat and the brain are in constant conversation. Through nerve signals, the brain helps regulate whether fat stores energy, releases it, or burns it as heat. In obesity and type 2 diabetes, this communication may break down. Fat then becomes less able to manage excess energy, allowing it to build up in the liver and muscles and making it harder for the body to respond to insulin.
This project will uncover the hidden communication network linking the nervous system to different kinds of fat. We will identify the nerve pathways that control energy-burning fat, fat beneath the skin that can safely store energy, and fat around internal organs that is more closely associated with metabolic disease. We will also examine why these connections can strengthen when the body needs to generate heat, yet weaken during obesity, and whether restoring selected signals can improve the way the body uses and stores energy.

Most current treatments act broadly across the body. Our long-term goal is a more precise approach: supporting the nerve pathways that keep fat healthy while avoiding unwanted effects on the heart, muscles, and other organs. By revealing how communication between the brain and fat changes in disease, this research could open a new direction for treating obesity and type 2 diabetes, one that aims to restore the body’s own control of energy balance rather than simply compensate when that control fails.