The scientists have discovered that neurons located in the brain that trigger a receptor called melanocortin 4 (MC4R). These neurons, The Scientist reports, also communicate with a area within the brain. These factors com together in order to tell the brain that hunger has been sated. If these neural triggers are played around with they can could prevent mice that would naturally be hungry from wanting to eat. This can happen via the stimulation of specific brain cells. This centers on the hypothalamus, which is responsible for certain metabolic processes such as thirst, hunger and sleep.
The discovery builds on earlier studies that the hypothalamus regulates body weight and the desire to eat. With the new research, scientists genetically altered rodents with MC4R neurons. These neurons can be switched to ‘active’ and ‘non-active’ modes by way of chemical enhancement. The research brief notes that as the biologists closed-off the neurons, rodents that had eaten and would naturally have been full continued to eat. For the reverse, deactivating the neurons resulted in hungry mice no longer feeling hungry.
The implication is that this research could one day be used to develop a new generation of weight loss drugs.
The study was a collaboration between Harvard Medical School, the National Institutes of Health, the University of Edinburgh, U.K., and the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The research has been published in the journal Nature Neuroscience. The paper is titled “A neural basis for melanocortin-4 receptor–regulated appetite.”
