Lesions in the Brain Dictate Us to Eat Too Much or Too Less

According to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Duke University Medical Center and Porto University, our brain dictates us how much to eat. It is independent of our stomachs, as particular areas in the brain motivate us when to eat (give us the hunger sensation) and what amount of food to eat until we are full (give us the satiety sensation.) The report published in the Neuron journal also informs that when the specific brain regions involved in our eating habits are injured, we may start to overeat or dramatically reduce the regular food intake.

The team carried out lab studies on rats and scanned their brain activity before eating, while eating and when the animals stopped eating due to the fact that they were full. In conclusion, they analyzed how brain works throughout the whole feeding and eating process.

Four brain regions of mice's brain were investigated in the study: the lateral hypothalamus, basolateral amygdale, insular cortex, and orbitofrontal cortex. Out of them, the brain region which was the most stimulated and active during the eating process was the lateral hypothalamus.

Previous studies also showed that lesions which occurred in the lateral hypothalamus brain area led to a dramatic change in the eating habits of an individual. Such lesions can cause overeating- regardless of the food which is consumed and its properties (appearance, taste, aroma etc.)- and an eating disorder which is known as hyperphagia. On the other hand, a damaged lateral hypothalamus may also lead to no hunger symptoms and a dramatic reduction in the amount of food consumed by an individual - eating disorder known as hypophagia.

Therefore, an increased consumption of food overloaded with trans fats or fizzy drinks may be less important than how the brain works when it comes to eating habits and all the eating cycle (hunger-saturation-hunger.)Catarina Amorim, a Porto University spokesperson, stated: "This research contributes to a better understanding of the brain mechanics behind feeding stimulus, a particularly important issue in view of the current world epidemic of obesity."