You just finished a good meal and are feeling full? Researchers from the CNRS, Inrae, University of Burgundy, Université de Paris, Inserm, and the University of Luxembourg have just revealed the mechanisms in our brains that lead to this state. They involve a series of reactions triggered by a rise in blood glucose levels. This study, which was conducted on mice, is published in Cell Reports on 3 March 2020.
The neuronal circuits in our brain governing feelings of hunger and satiety can modify their connections, thereby adjusting feeding behavior to living conditions and maintaining a balance between food intake and calorie expenditure. Scientists suspect that this plasticity could be altered for obese subjects.
In a new study conducted on mice, a team led by Alexandre Benani, a CNRS researcher at the Centre for Taste and Feeding Behavior (CNRS/Inrae/University of Burgundy/AgroSup Dijon), has shown that these circuits are activated on the time scale of a meal, subsequently regulating feeding behavior. However, this activation does not occur through a change in the circuit’s “connections.”
