Scientists from the Hotchkiss Brain Institute (HBI), University of Calgary (Canada), have discovered a mechanism by which estress increases food gatheringin rats. The finding, published this week inNeuron, provides important clues to explainwhy stress could be one of the biggest contributors to obesity.
Researchers Jaideep Bains and Quentin Pittman specifically looked at nerve cells (neurons) in the region of the brain known ashypothalamus. This structure is known to have aimportant role in appetite and metabolism controland it has been identified as the primary region responsible for the brain’s response to stress. Normally, the brain produces neurotransmitters calledendocanabinoides, which send signals from one cell to another to control appetite.
In this work, the researchers have found that,when there is no food, a stress response occurs that temporarily causes functional “rewiring” in the brain, which can reduce the ability of endocannabinoids to regulate food intake and contribute to increased food storage. However, when the effects of stress hormones are blocked in the brain, the absence of food does not cause any changes in the neural circuitry.
As Bains explains, “these discoveries can help explain howcellular communication within our brain can be overridden in the absence of food“These same changes may be caused by stress induced by lack of food. If changes similar to those seen in rodents occurred in the human brain, these findings could have several implications for human health. According to Pittman,” by example,If we decide to skip a meal, the brain may increase our appetite“What’s more, the fact that lack of food triggers a stress response could help explain the relationship between stress and obesity.” In any case, what is clear, the study authors conclude, is that “the absence of food causes dramatic changes in the way our neurons communicate with each other.”
