Journal article

FGF21 analogue PF-05231023 on alcohol consumption and neuronal activity in the nucleus accumbens

BJ Cooley, CV Occelli Hanbury-Brown, EA Choi, WA Heller, AW Lim, AJ Lawrence, PS Haber, GP McNally, EZ Millan

Neuropsychopharmacology | Published : 2026

Abstract

Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) is a liver-derived hormone known to suppress alcohol consumption in mice and non-human primates. However, the role of FGF21 in modulating environmental and behavioural factors driving alcohol consumption—such as cue-driven responses and effortful actions to obtain alcohol—and its effects on neural activity related to consumption, remain unclear. Here, we evaluated the impact of PF-05231023, a long-acting FGF21 analogue, across multiple dimensions of alcohol consumption and motivation and examined consumption-related activity in the nucleus accumbens. PF-05231023 reduced alcohol intake and preference in a dose- and sex-specific manner; diminished approach b..

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University of Melbourne Researchers