Stephen C. Benoit

Abstract

The regulation of energy balance depends on the precise coordination of multiple peripheral and central systems. Importantly, recent work has highlighted the importance of behavioral mechanisms in this control and suggested that the regulation of body weight shares CNS pathways in common with other complex behaviors, including learning and drug addiction. Additionally, some recent research on food intake has divided ingestive behavior into several distinct phases. This presentation will outline a temporally and operationally defined classification of ingestive behaviors. Numerous peripheral and central signals including hypothalamic peptides are thought to impact these distinct behavioral phases of ingestion differently. This talk will summarize a number of behavioral assays designed to delineate the effects of hormone and peptide signals that influence food intake on these ingestive mechanisms, including learned controls of intake.

Biography

Stephen C. Benoit, Ph.D. received his Ph.D. in 1998 from Purdue University where he trained in the field of ingestive behavior. He is now an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Cincinnati, Medical School. He also serves as the Director of the Genome Research Center Behavioral Assay Core, which provides access to behaviorally-focused experimental equipment for both academic and industry collaborators. Dr. Benoit’s laboratory is funded by the National Institutes of Health, The Department of Defense and several industry grants and contracts. The main areas of research focus include ingestive behavior, learning and animal models of addiction.