{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"institution":[{"name":"bioRxiv"}],"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,12]],"date-time":"2026-02-12T18:08:02Z","timestamp":1770919682904,"version":"3.50.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]]},"group-title":"Neuroscience","reference-count":82,"publisher":"openRxiv","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1770595200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.biorxiv.org\/about\/FAQ#license"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                <jats:p>\n                  The bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BST) is a nuclear complex that coordinates neuroendocrine, autonomic, and behavioral responses associated with maintaining homeostasis. Here, we demonstrate that melanocortin 3 receptor (MC3R) neurons in the BST (BST\n                  <jats:sup>MC3R<\/jats:sup>\n                  ) play a key role in modulating feeding behaviors and responses to stressful events. BST\n                  <jats:sup>MC3R<\/jats:sup>\n                  neurons are primarily GABAergic and colocalize with neuropeptides known to regulate feeding and affective behaviors. Chemogenetic activation of BST\n                  <jats:sup>MC3R<\/jats:sup>\n                  neurons causes reduced feeding, particularly in males. BST\n                  <jats:sup>MC3R<\/jats:sup>\n                  neurons are also robustly activated by stress and can control responses to stress and defensive behaviors in both sexes. Whole-brain monosynaptic rabies tracing identified multiple sexually dimorphic inputs to BST\n                  <jats:sup>MC3R<\/jats:sup>\n                  neurons that may contribute to observed functional sexual dimorphisms. Altogether, these data reveal that BST\n                  <jats:sup>MC3R<\/jats:sup>\n                  neurons participate in sexually dimorphic circuits that influence feeding and defensive behaviors, responses to stress, and may represent a potential therapeutic target for stress- and eating-related disorders.\n                <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.64898\/2026.02.08.702109","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,9]],"date-time":"2026-02-09T09:25:31Z","timestamp":1770629131000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Sex-specific control of feeding and defensive behaviors by MC3R neurons in the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis"],"prefix":"10.64898","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4844-3751","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Michelle N.","family":"Bedenbaugh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Deparment of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL"},{"name":"McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Marie A.","family":"Doyle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Department of Neurobiology, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Caitlyn M.","family":"Edwards","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Department of Neurobiology, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nick","family":"Petersen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dollada","family":"Srisai","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Sydney H.","family":"Hawkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicholas T.","family":"Low","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Haley","family":"Mendoza-Romero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Jordan A.","family":"Brown","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alexander S.","family":"Vardy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"},{"name":"Vanderbilt Center for Addiction Research, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, TN"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Danny G.","family":"Winder","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, School of Medicine, Nashville, 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