PHILADELPHIA (July 25, 2025) – A group of scientists from the Monell Chemical Senses Center will present their research at the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior from July 28th – August 1st at the Mathematical Institute, Oxford, UK.
The annual conference broadly covers research on behaviors associated with all aspects of eating and drinking. Monell researchers from three labs will share their investigations on how taste and smell influences what foods we consume, how that changes across the lifespan, and internal cues called interoception, along with the role of the brain reward system and vagal nerve system. These are highlights of Monell sensory science being delivered in oral sessions at this meeting:
Tuesday, July 29
ORAL SESSION 2: COMING TO YOUR SENSES; OLFACTION AND GUSTATION IN INGESTION
1:15pm
AgRP neurons distinguish oral sugars from sweeteners
MISGANA Y GHIDEWON1, 2, LARYSSA O COUTINHO2, MILENA S ALMEIDA2, SEVINCH RAKHMONOVA2, ALISHA A ACOSTA2, AMBER L ALHADEFF1, 2.
1University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Food intake requires intricate coordination between orosensory signaling and central feeding circuits that initiate and maintain feeding. Yet, the impact of oral sugar sensing on homeostatic feeding circuits is not fully understood. They found that sugars and sweeteners affect hypothalamic agouti-related protein (AgRP) neuron activity but do so through different mechanisms. Overall, these findings show that differences in caloric sugar and non-caloric sweeteners are distinguished in the mouth and transmitted to AgRP neurons, which has typically been ascribed only to post-ingestive signaling.
More on the Alhadeff lab here and here.
ORAL SESSION 3: OH TO BE YOUNG; EARLY LIFE FOOD PERCEPTION AND EATING
3:30pm
Working memory moderates the relationship between attentional bias and eating behavior
JESSICA H. LIU1, 2, AFRODITI PAPANTONI2, KYLE S. BURGER2.
1The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Previous research has shown that impaired working memory (perception that is affected by a current train of thought) and attentional bias towards food have independently been associated with atypical eating behavior patterns and weight gain. The researchers hypothesized lower working memory and higher attentional bias would be related to faster energy eating rates, increased caloric intake, and higher body mass. They found that working memory and attentional bias interact to influence eating behavior. Specifically, individuals with poorer working memory may be more susceptible to food cues, and that combination increases how fast and how much people consume.
More on the Burger lab here.
3:45pm
Using machine learning to identify task fMRI predictors of appetite ratings and weight status in adolescents
TRINITY CHENG1, LIUYI CHEN1, AFRODITI PAPANTONI2, SUSAN CARNELL1.
1Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA. 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Food cue responsiveness is thought to influence body weight. Task fMRI studies have identified brain regions activated by exposure to food cues. However, the degree to which responses within these regions can predict appetite and body weight is unclear. The team applied machine-learning models to an fMRI food cue reactivity task with 77 adolescents to classify participants into groups based on subjective appetite ratings.
More on Postdoctoral Fellow Afroditi Papantoni here.
Wednesday, July 30
ORAL SESSION 4: KNOW THYSELF; INTEROCEPTION AND INGESTION
10:15am
Vagal sensory neurons selectively encode intestinal protein
ALAN DE ARAUJO1, 2, MINGXIN YANG1, 2, AVNIKA BALI1, 2, JAMES MCCUTCHEON4, CHRISTOPHER MORRISON3, GUILLAUME DE LARTIGUE1, 2.
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 3Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA, USA. 4UiT the Arctic University of Norway, Tromso, Norway
Dietary protein is essential for survival and generally palatable. When protein intake is restricted, animals rapidly increase consumption of protein-rich foods, suggesting that animals can detect protein deficiency and adapt accordingly. However, the neural circuits that sense ingested protein and guide this adaptive behavior are poorly defined. The team identified a vagal gut-brain pathway that detects dietary protein and influences protein appetite through post-ingestive feedback.
More on the de Lartigue lab here and here.
10:30am
A dedicated gut-brain pathway for hypothalamic fructose sensing
AARON D MCKNIGHT1, 2, FANG Y HSU2, ALEXANDRA G VARGAS2, ALAN ARAUJO2, GUILLAUME LARTIGUE1, 2, AMBER L ALHADEFF1, 2.
1Department of Neuroscience, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Activity in agouti-related protein (AgRP)-expressing neurons in the hypothalamus drives food intake and is inhibited by the post-ingestive detection of calories. Given that modern diets contain increasing levels of added sugars, the team examined how glucose and fructose impact activity in AgRP neurons. They found that fructose engages a distinct gut-to-hypothalamic pathway and is less effective than glucose at inhibiting AgRP neurons, a finding that may impact feeding behavior and weight gain.
More on the Alhadeff lab here and here.
Friday Aug 1
ORAL SESSION 7: BEYOND HOMEOSTASIS; HOW REWARD AND LEARNING INFLUENCE EATING
10:00am
Hypothalamic circuits shape accumbal dopamine release to drive feeding
(Elsevier Physiology & Behavior New Investigator Travel Awardee)
SAM Z. BACHARACH1, LARYSSA O. COUTINHO1, KATIE A. ZAPPETTI1, 2, AMBER L. ALHADEFF1,2.
1Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 2University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Agouti-related protein (AgRP)-expressing neurons in the arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus are tuned to feelings of hunger and critical for feeding behavior. Stimulation of AgRP neurons robustly drives food intake and increases dopamine release. However, the neural mechanisms linking energy-sensing circuits to dopamine release remain poorly understood. The team demonstrated that AgRP neurons bidirectionally modulate dopamine release. Ongoing studies are investigating the downstream neuron populations linking hypothalamic AgRP neurons to dopamine release.
More on the Alhadeff lab here and here.
###
About Monell Chemical Senses Center
The Monell Chemical Senses Center is an independent nonprofit research institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1968 to advance and share discoveries in the science of the chemical senses of smell, taste, chemesthesis, and interoception to solve the world’s health, societal, and environmental challenges.
LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | X | YouTube