Overeating occurs when a person consumes more food than they require or desire. You will gain weight if you overeat on a regular basis for a long period of time. Eating too much in one sitting or consuming too many calories throughout the day are common bad habits that can be difficult to break. While some people regard these behaviors as habits that can be broken, they may indicate an eating disorder in others. Eating too much food can lead to weight gain and increase the risk of developing a chronic condition such as diabetes or heart disease.
Neurons and hormones linked to binge eating are being studied by researchers. This research adds to our understanding of the brain circuits involved in eating disorders. Overeating is defined as consuming more calories than your body requires for energy. People overeat for a variety of emotional or psychological reasons, including boredom, anxiety, depression, or stress. Eating is one of life’s greatest pleasures, and overeating is one of life’s most pressing issues.
Researchers from The Stuber Lab at the University of Washington School of Medicine discovered in 2019 that certain cells in obese mice light up and prevent signals that indicate satiety, or feeling full. The next step is to delve deeper into the role that these cells play.
The function of glutamatergic neurons in mice is described in a study published in the journal Neuron. These cells are found in the brain’s lateral hypothalamic area, which is a hub that regulates motivated behaviors such as feeding.
Professor Stuber
The function of glutamatergic neurons in mice is described in a study published in the journal Neuron. These cells are found in the brain’s lateral hypothalamic area, which is a hub that regulates motivated behaviors such as feeding.
The researchers discovered that these neurons communicate with two different brain regions: the lateral habenula, which is important in the pathophysiology of depression, and the ventral tegmental area, which is best known for its role in motivation, reward, and addiction.
“We discovered that these cells are not a monolithic group and that different flavors of these cells do different things,” said Stuber, an anesthesiology, pain medicine, and pharmacology professor at the University of Washington. He is the senior author of the paper and works at the UW Center for the Neurobiology of Addiction, Pain, and Emotion. The lead author is Mark Rossi, an acting instructor of anesthesiology and pain medicine.
The research contributes to a better understanding of the brain circuits involved in eating disorders. In the hopes of finding treatments, the Stuber Lab investigates the function of major cell groups in the brain’s reward circuit and characterizes their role in addiction and mental illness. One question is whether drugs can be used to target these cells without causing harm to other parts of the brain.
Their most recent study examined the lateral hypothalamic glutamate neurons in great detail. When mice are fed, researchers discovered that neurons in the lateral habenula are more responsive than those in the ventral tegmental area, implying that these neurons may play a greater role in guiding feeding.
Researchers also investigated the effects of the hormones leptin and ghrelin on our eating habits. Both leptin and ghrelin are thought to influence behavior via the mesolimbic dopamine system, which is a key component of the brain’s reward pathway. However, little is known about how these hormones affect neurons in the lateral hypothalamic area of the brain. The researchers discovered that leptin reduces the activity of neurons that project to the lateral habenula while increasing the activity of neurons that project to the ventral tegmental area. However, ghrelin has the opposite effect.
Your body uses some of the calories you consume for energy when you eat. The remainder is stored as fat. Consuming more calories than you burn may lead to weight gain or obesity. This increases your chances of developing cancer and other chronic health issues. Overeating can even interfere with your sleep. Your circadian clock, which regulates your sleep cycles, causes the levels of sleep and hunger hormones to fluctuate throughout the day. Overeating can disrupt this cycle, making it difficult to sleep through the night.
According to this study, brain circuits that control feeding overlap at least partially with brain circuitry involved in drug addiction. The findings add to the growing body of research on the role of the brain in obesity, which the World Health Organization describes as a global epidemic. According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 states now have obesity rates of 35% or higher. That’s an increase of four states in a year (Delaware, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas).
