Stina Börchers

Research

sex matters

Why do our hormones affect eating behavior differently in men and women?

Stina’s research dives into the hidden dialogue between our hormones and our brains, uncovering how sex steroids like estrogen, along with appetite-regulating gut hormones influence complex behaviors, such as food intake, anxiety, and aggression.

This is a short snippet of the introduction of Stina’s PhD defense presentation. You can find her thesis here.

List of Publications

From the pancreas to amygdala: New brain area critical for ingestive and motivated behavior control exerted by amylin.
Byun S, Maric I, Börchers S, Sotzen MR, Olekanma D, Hayes MR, Skibicka KP.
iScience 2025.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.112040

Sex-specific signatures of amylin and GLP-1 on resting state brain activity and functional connectivity in awake rats.
Arefin T, Börchers S, Olekanma D, Cramer S, Sotzen M, Zhang N, Skibicka KP.
Neuropharmacology 2025.

GLP-1 and its analogs: Does sex matter?
Börchers S, Skibicka KP.
Endocrinology 2025.

Lateral parabrachial nucleus astrocytes control food intake.
Mishra D, Richard J, Maric I, Shevchouk O, Börchers S, Eerola K, Krieger JP, Skibicka KP.
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2024.

Elevated circulating adiponectin levels do not prevent anxiety-like behavior in a PCOS-like mouse model.
Samad M, Ek J, Börchers S, Krieger JP, Stener-Victorin E, Skibicka KP, Wernstedt Asterholm I, Benrick A.
Scientific reports 2024.

From the stomach to locus coeruleus: new neural substrate for ghrelin’s effects on ingestive, motivated, and anxiety-like behaviors.
Maric I, López-Ferreras L, Bhat Y, Asker M, Börchers S, Bellfy L, Byun S, Kwapis J, Skibicka KP.
Frontiers in Pharmacology 2023.

Peripherally restricted oxytocin is sufficient to reduce food intake and motivation, while CNS entry is required for locomotor and taste avoidance effects.
Asker M, Krieger JP, Liles A, Tinsley IC, Borner T, Maric I, Doebley S, Furst CD, Börchers S, Longo F, Bhat YR, De Jonghe BC, Hayes MR, Doyle RP, Skibicka KP.
Diabetes 2023.

An appetite for aggressive behavior? Female rats, too, derive reward from winning aggressive interactions.
Börchers S, Carl J, Schormair K, Krieger JP, Asker M, Jerlhag E, Edvardsson CE, Skibicka KP.
Translational Psychiatry 2023.

From an empty stomach to anxiolysis: Molecular and behavioral assessment of sex differences in the ghrelin axis of rats.
Börchers S, Krieger J-P, Maric I, Carl J, Abraham M, Longo F, Asker M, Richard JE, Skibicka KP.
Frontiers in Endocrinology 2022.

Neural pathway for gut feelings: vagal interoceptive feedback from the gastrointestinal tract is a critical modulator of anxiety-like behavior.
Krieger JP, Asker M, Van der Velden P, Börchers S, Richard JE, Skibicka KP.
Biological Psychiatry 2022.

Commonly used rodent tests of anxiety-like behavior lack predictive validity for human sex differences.
Börchers S, Krieger J-P, Asker M, Maric I, Skibicka KP.
Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022

Sex and species differences in the development of diet-induced obesity and metabolic disturbances in rodents.
Maric I, Krieger JP, Van der Velden P, Börchers S, Asker M, Vujicic M, Wernstedt-Asterholm I, Skibicka KP.
Frontiers in Nutrition 2022.