New Appetite Control Mechanism Discovered in Brain

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http://neurosciencenews.com/appetite-control-mechanism-6536/

New Appetite Control Mechanism Discovered in Brain

There is a new discovered molecule that increases appetite during the times of fasting, this same molecule decreases when we are stuffing our face. This protein is called NPGL; its intentions is to maintain a constant body mass. Not exciting for those who are trying to lose or gain weight. Scientist have been aware that leptin is released by fatty tissues, and reduces appetite, while ghrelin is released by making us want to eat more. But overall these hormones actually activate a host of neurons in the brain (hypothalamus). This finding shows us that hunger and energy consumption is more complicated than it seems. Professor Kazuyoshi Ukena of Hiroshima University- the discoverer of the NPGL hormone, discovered NPGL in chickens, then researched more into it in other mammals and also mice. In his research he had three groups of mice’s and had them on different types of diets. One group of mice was on a low calorie diet, for 24 hours. The second group was on a high-fat diet, for five weeks and the third group was also on a high-fat-diet but for thirteen weeks. The results to the group that was fed on a high fat for five weeks, was that NPGL expression decreased. The group that was fed on a low calorie diet, their NPGL had an extreme increase in their NGL. This shows that NPGL is associated with neuron network, in the locations of the brain that are known to control appetite suppression and energy use. After some times, the mice that had a high fat diet their NPGL levels fell back to normal, along with the others. “It is proposed that exposure to high-fat diets for long periods of time lead to insensitivity to leptin’s appetite-suppressing effects, and so NPGL — even at normal levels – leads to weight gain and obesity, showing that the body can only do so much to keep our weight in check.”

I think that this is a cool finding, but I think that this should be experimented on us humans. But also this makes me question if this hormone makes us revert to a size that we don’t want, what is the real cause of weight gains and weight losses? This ties into this course because hunger is a complicated motivation in both biological and environmental factors.

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