An expanded view of energy homeostasis: Neural integration of metabolic, cognitive, and emotional drives to eat
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1
Louisiana State University System, Neurobiology of Nutrition Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, United States
Under mostly restrictive environmental conditions, powerful biological mechanisms evolved to defend adequate nutrient supply, levels of adiposity, and body weight. Many of these mechanisms involve cognitive and emotional-affective functions of the brain involved in goal-directed motivated behavior. For example, there is now evidence that low leptin levels and reduced leptin-signaling does not only affect the mediobasal hypothalamic energy balance regulator, but also acts directly and indirectly on other brain areas to enhance sensory perception, reward expectancy, and memorial representations of foods and their cues in the environment. The combined effect is the signature of a “hungry” brain. In contrast and as a result of thrifty adaptation and/or random drift in the genetic predisposition, only weak mechanisms exist to defend against weight gain in some individuals. In the modern environment with its increased availability of large amounts of energy dense foods, presence of powerful food cues, minimal physical food procurement costs, and a sedentary lifestyle, such predisposed individuals develop obesity, just like some laboratory animals and pets develop diet-induced obesity. Thus, in prone individuals, motivation to eat is strongly guided by cortico-limbic mechanisms of reward and emotion that can easily override metabolic repletion signals, while in resistant individuals the balance between these two systems is maintained. Therefore, the discussion about possible differences in brain functions underlying common obesity has shifted from the hypothalamus to include cortico-limbic systems, particularly those processing pleasure, reward, satisfaction, cost-benefit calculations, and conscious decision making. Better understanding of how these systems are organized and how they interact with the metabolically-driven controls in the hypothalamus and brainstem will go a long way in the search for behavioral and pharmacological tools to counteract the modern environmental pressures. Supported by NIDDK 47348 and NIDDK 072081.
Keywords:
Hypothalamus,
ingestive behavior,
Learning,
Limbic System,
Obesity,
Reward
Conference:
2nd Selfish Brain Conference
New research on the neurobiology of ingestive behaviour, 23554 Luebeck, Germany, 27 May - 28 May, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Oral Presentation
Topic:
Talks
Citation:
Berthoud
H and
Shin
AC
(2010). An expanded view of energy homeostasis: Neural integration of metabolic, cognitive, and emotional drives to eat.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
2nd Selfish Brain Conference
New research on the neurobiology of ingestive behaviour.
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.08.00004
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Received:
12 Apr 2010;
Published Online:
12 Apr 2010.
*
Correspondence:
Hans-Rudolf Berthoud, Louisiana State University System, Neurobiology of Nutrition Laboratory, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, United States, berthohr@pbrc.edu