Objective: The brain drives great enthusiasm towards palatable nutrients. Craving and consuming palatable foods with high fat or sugar content often overcome homeostatic feeding. Even though certain brain regions are known to control physiological fed and fasted states along with hedonic and homeostatic feeding, neural populations that regulate hedonic feeding through predominating physiological needs remain unidentified. Earlier genetic studies have implicated a role for melanin concentrating hormone (MCH) neurons of lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) in food reward. In this study, we aimed to use acute neuronal activity manipulation tools to functionally characterize MCH neurons in terms of appetite and reward. Methods: We used a combination of optogenetic and chemogenetic approaches in Pmch-cre transgenic mice to acutely stimulate or inhibit MCH neuronal activity, while probing food intake, locomotor activity, anxiety-like behaviors, glucose homeostasis and reward. We also investigated rewarding capacity of MCH neuronal stimulation alone by optogenetic activation. For this purpose, we conducted nose poke assay, lever press assay and real time place preference assay to assess reward value of MCH neurons. Results: MCH neuron activity is neither required nor sufficient for short-term control of appetite for chow food unless stimulation is temporally paired with consummatory period. While MCH neuronal activity does not affect short-term locomotor activity, its inhibition improves glucose tolerance and has mildly anxiolytic effect. Finally using two different operant tasks we show that activation of MCH neurons alone is sufficient to induce reward. Conclusion: Collectively, these experiments confirm diverse behavioral and physiological functions of MCH neurons and suggest a direct role in reward function. Our results support a role for MCH neurons in reinforcement of ongoing consumption, rather than directly increasing the motivation to eat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]