Professor Michael Cowley

Professorial Fellow - Department of Physiology
VESKI Innovation Fellow
(Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation)

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Research Interests

Michael Cowley is a member of the metabolic Neuroscience Research Group.  Research within the Cowley lab began by studying the cellular and neural circuitry responses to signals of energy status: how the brain determines how much energy (fat) is stored in the body. We set out to map the pathways that are engaged by signals of energy state, and how these pathways relay information to the rest of the brain. Using this map of the melanocortin circuits in the hypothalamus (the region of the brain responsible for basic functions including thirst, hunger, the desire to reproduce and other essential processes) we were able to discover new signals within the body that regulate energy balance and describe how other known energy signals exert their effects on the brain.

Research in the lab now focuses on how these signals from the body lose ability to control our weight once the person is obese. We seek to determine how and why the brain becomes resistant to signals that are meant to convey that the body has sufficient stores of energy, and should start to burn more, and eat less.

A possible explanation for the recent increase in obesity relates to the very rewarding aspects of highly palatable foods, in other words why are sweet or fatty foods more "tasty" than other foods? Furthermore, why do we continue to engage in eating behavior that is obviously bad for us?

We wish to determine how the reward based pathways and homeostatic pathways interact, and how reward overrules homeostatic signals of satiety (the feeling that one can always squeeze in one more piece of chocolate cake…). We seek to better understand the structure of the neural pathways by which the reward and homeostatic circuits interact.

Recent Key Publications

P Sinnayah, EE Jobst, JA Rathner, AD Caldera-Siu, LTonelli-Lemos, AJ Eusterbrock, PJ Enriori, EN Pothos, KL Grove & MA Cowley. (2008). Feeding induced by cannabinoids is mediated independently of the melanocortin system. PLoS One. May 21;3 (5):e2202.

Q Wu, MP Howell, MA Cowley, RD Palmiter. (2008).  Starvation after AgRP neuron ablation is independent of melanocortin signaling. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 105 (7):2687-92.

NM Wallingford, P Sinnayah, FP Bymaster, KM Gadde, RK Krishnan, AA McKinney, RP. Landbloom, GD Tollefson and MA Cowley. (2008). Zonisamide prevents olanzapine-associated hyperphagia, weight gain, and elevated blood glucose in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology. In Press.

LE Parton, CP Ye, R Coppari, PJ Enriori, B Choi, C-Y Zhang, C Xu, CR Vianna, N Balthasar, CE. Lee, JK. Elmquist, MA. Cowley*, BB. Lowell. (2007). Glucose-sensing by POMC neurons regulates glucose homeostasis and is impaired in obesity. Nature. 449: 228-32.

SK Billes & MA Cowley. (2007). Catecholamine reuptake inhibition causes weight loss by increasing locomotor activity and thermogenesis. Neuropsychopharmacology.  33: 1287-1297.  

JM Scarlett, EE Jobst, PJ Enriori, DD Bowe, AK Batra, WF Grant, MA Cowley* & DL Marks. (2007). Regulation of central melanocortin signaling by interleukin-1b.Endocrinology. 148:4217-25.

PJ Enriori, AE Evans, P Sinnayah, EE Jobst, L Tonelli-Lemos, SK Billes, MM Glavas, BE Grayson, M Perello, EA Nillni, KL Grove, MA Cowley. (2007). Diet-induced obesity causes severe but reversible leptin resistance in arcuate melanocortin neurons. Cell Metab. 5:181-194.

FL Greenway, CK Martin, AK Gupta, S Cruickshank, J Whitehouse, L DeYoung, K Kamdar, MK Caruso, AT Roberts, M England, K Dumas, BJ Laidlaw, B Rogers & MA Cowley. (2007). Using intranasal lidocaine to reduce food intake. International Journal of Obesity 31, 858-863.

SK Billes & MA Cowley. (2007). Inhibition of dopamine and norepinephrine reuptake produces additive effects on energy balance in lean and obese mice. Neuropsychopharmacology 32, 822-834.

FH Koegler, PJ Enriori, SK Billes, DL Takahashi, MS Martin, RL Clark, AE Evans, KL Grove, JL Cameron & MA Cowley.  (2005).  PYY_(3-36) inhibits morning, but not evening, food intake and decreases body weight in rhesus macaques.  Diabetes, 54: 3198-204.

MA Cowley, S Diano, M Tschöp, N Pronchuk, CJ Strasburger, M Bidlingmaier, M Esterman, RG Smith, ML Heiman, LM Garia-Segura, ES Nilni, P Mendez, MJ Low, WF Colmers, RD Cone,  TL Horvath. (2003). The distribution and mechanism of action of ghrelin in the CNS demonstrates a novel hypothalamic circuit regulating energy homeostasiss.  Neuron 37:649-61.

MA Cowley, RL Batterham, CJ Small, H Herzog, MA Cohen, CL Dakin, AM Wren, AE Brynes, MJ Low, MA Ghatei, RD Cone, SR Bloom. (2002).  Gut hormone PYY(3-36) physiologically inhibits food intake. Nature 418:650-4.

LK Heisler, MA Cowley, LH Tecott, W Fan, MJ Low, JL Smart, M Rubinstein, JB Tatro, H Holstege, CE Lee, RD Cone, JK Elmquist. (2002)  Fenfluramine activates central melanocortin pathways. Science 297:609-611.

MA Cowley, JL Smart, M Rubinstein, MG Cerdán, TL Horvath, S Diano, RD Cone, MJ Low. (2001).  Leptin activates anorexigenic POMC neurons through a neural network in arcuate nucleus Nature 411:480-4.

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