Food intake at the “wrong” time desynchonizes the periphery from the brain and is detrimental to metabolic health. But how does the brain sense this disruption? What nuclei and cell types are involved? Can they be harnessed to alleviate the metabolic burden of shift work or jet lag?

A sizable portion of the hepatic transcriptome oscillates independent of the endogenous liver clock and is regulated by inputs from the hepatic vagal efferent nerve (HVEN). What is the source of the HVEN signal? How does it transduce to affect liver cell gene transcription? Is there a physio-metabolic effect to manipulating this signal?

The hepatic vagal circuit has thus far remained elusive, but advances in tissue clearing, microscopy, and viral tracing techniques now make it possible to investigate how the liver and brain communicate. Where do the liver and brain communicate? What does the liver have to say? And when does it have to say it?