メディエイゴ

A new brain-imaging study(1) by researchers(2) at the Montreal Neurological Institute(3), McGill University reveals(4) that ghrelin(5) - a stomach(6) hormone(7), acts on(8) specific regions(9) of the brain to enhance(10) our response to food related cues(11) and eating for pleasure. This study, published in the May 7 issue of Cell Metabolism(12), is critical(13) to advance understanding and treating obesity(14), a condition affecting millions world-wide(15).

Appetite(16) was previously(17) thought of as being controlled by two separate mechanisms: homeostatic(18) and non-homeostatic(19) or hedonic(20) food consumption(21). Homeostatic feeding(22) is controlled by hormones such as ghrelin, that act on the brain to tell the body when to eat in an attempt to keep a constant body weight(23). Hedonic consumption is triggered by(24) visual(25) or smell cues. For example, wanting to eat a piece of cake just because it looks good and will bring pleasure when eaten. This study demonstrates that both food consumption behaviours(26) are inter-connected(27) and a key player(28) in their regulation is the stomach hormone ghrelin.

“Our study demonstrates that ghrelin actually activates(29) certain regions of the brain to be more responsive(30) to visual food cues, thereby enhancing the hedonic and incentive(31) responses to food-related(32) cues,’ says Dr. Alain Dagher, neurologist(33) at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University and principal investigator(34) in the study. “Ghrelin is a hormone that triggers hunger, and is secreted(35) by the stomach [when it is empty]. An easy analogy(36) would be to think about when you go shopping on an empty stomach, you tend to buy more food and products higher in calories(37). The reason is that your brain views the food as more appealing(38), largely due to the action(39) of ghrelin on the brain.”