Brief CommunicationNeural control of appetite: cross-talk between homeostatic and non-homeostatic systems
Section snippets
Environmental factors impinge on cortico-limbic brain structures to affect food intake
Only a small fraction of human obesity can be explained by single gene defects as in the case of leptin (Farooqi et al., 2002) or melanocortin signaling deficiency. In ‘common obesity’, there is no single gene defect, but it is the interaction of many susceptibility genes with a particular environment. According to the thrifty gene hypothesis, genes that were selected and important for survival in an environment characterized by a relatively scarce food supply and frequent periods of famine
The ‘new’ neurology of reward: the driving force for ingestive behavior in the modern world
It has been speculated that reward mechanisms evolved to guarantee engagement in particular behaviors important for survival of species. A constant and varied energy supply is certainly important for survival, and eating food typically generates pleasurable or rewarding feelings. Until recently, reward was thought of as a single neurological entity with dopamine transmission playing a crucial role. Now a ‘new’ neurology of reward is emerging. The mechanisms contributing to reward can be parsed
Reward can override the metabolic regulatory system
A leptin-sensitive peptidergic neural network in the hypothalamus has been identified as the homeostatic control system for the regulation of adiposity and body weight (Flier, 2004, Schwartz, 2001). This system is remarkably powerful in guaranteeing a sufficient supply of energy, as demonstrated by genetic models with deficiencies in signaling at the leptin receptor or further downstream (Farooqi et al., 2002). Although often portrayed as a simple reflex circuit involving the arcuate nucleus of
Acknowledgements
Based on a presentation to the Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior, 22 January, 2004 (Harry R. Kissileff, Chairman), supported in part by Glaxosmithkline and The New York Obesity Research Center, St Lukes/Roosevelt Hospital.
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