Distributed amylin receptor signaling and its influence on motivated behavior

•Amylin reduces food intake through actions at sites throughout the brain.•Amylin activates traditionally “homeostatic” as well as “hedonic” feeding nuclei.•A new area of research suggests that amylin decreases alcohol intake.•More research is needed to understand how amylin affects motivated behaviors. The intake- and body weight-suppressive hormone amylin exerts effects on energy balance control at a variety of nuclei within the brain, including sites that have been referred to in the literature as mediating homeostatic versus hedonic aspects of feeding. Here, we review key central nervous system sites of action for amylin signaling in the neural control of feeding and body weight, and discuss how these sites may interact to mediate the effects of amylin within the brain. Additionally, we review recent findings suggesting that amylin influences alcohol intake, suggesting broader effects of amylin on motivated behavior beyond feeding.