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Study may lead to solutions for overeating

Date:
February 12, 2021
Source:
University of Texas at El Paso
Summary:
The 10-member team made discoveries about a specific area of the brain tied to recollection and the desire to seek and consume food. It could lead to a way to inhibit the desire to overeat.
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Science is a step closer to a new response to obesity, thanks in part to a study conducted by a team that included Sergio Iñiguez, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at The University of Texas at El Paso.

The 10-member team led by Brandon Warren, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacodynamics at the University of Florida, made discoveries about a specific area of the brain tied to recollection and the desire to seek and consume food. It could lead to a way to inhibit the desire to overeat.

Iñiguez, who directs UTEP's Iñiguez Behavioral Neuroscience Lab and helped design novel experimental techniques for the research, said that people tend to overeat when exposed to cues or environments that remind them of treats, which is one reason why people opt for dessert even after a filling meal. The study showed that neurons in a specific part of the brain control the link between the cue (seeing the dessert) and the action (ordering the dessert). Iñiguez and team found that animal subjects consumed fewer treats when they regulated that region of the animal's brain.

The techniques and the data eventually could help overcome some issues linked to obesity such as stroke, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high levels of bad cholesterol, and coronary heart disease.

"This is a big discovery because we now have experimental tools that allow us to turn off neurons while the subjects engage in a specific behavior," Iñiguez said. "This research shows that a specific part of the prefrontal cortex of the brain is important for the initial stages of learning to seek food."


Story Source:

Materials provided by University of Texas at El Paso. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Richard Quintana-Feliciano, Christina Gobin, Louisa Kane, Bo Sortman, Samantha Rakela, Ariana Genovese, Brendan Tunstall, Daniele Caprioli, Sergio Iniguez, Brandon L Warren. Food-seeking behavior is mediated by Fos-expressing neuronal ensembles formed at first learning in rats. eneuro, 2021; ENEURO.0373-20.2021 DOI: 10.1523/ENEURO.0373-20.2021

Cite This Page:

University of Texas at El Paso. "Study may lead to solutions for overeating." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 12 February 2021. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210212123524.htm>.
University of Texas at El Paso. (2021, February 12). Study may lead to solutions for overeating. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 4, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210212123524.htm
University of Texas at El Paso. "Study may lead to solutions for overeating." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/02/210212123524.htm (accessed October 4, 2024).

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