Neuroimaging study reveals three distinct response types in brain areas that control hunger, food intake, and appetite in patients who had undergone weight loss surgery.
The brain regulates both eating for hunger and pleasure through serotonin-producing neurons in the midbrain, but the different types of feeding are wired by independent circuits that do not influence the other type of feeding.
Connections between oxytocin neurons in the hypothalamus and dopamine neurons in the reward system drive parenting behaviors in both male and female voles.
A mother's overwhelming desire to take risks in the face of danger to protect her child, and other nurturing behaviors, are driven by neurons in the cMPOA region of the hypothalamus which contains a protein called the calcitonin receptor.
A study of hungry mice sheds new light on the neurobiology of olfaction and food attraction. Researchers identified a pathway that promotes attraction to food odors over other olfactory cues.
Study sheds new light on how the brain regulates hunger. The findings may help with the development of new drugs to fight obesity.
Researchers have identified a specific node in the brain of mice that regulates vocalizations in response to social situations. If a similar location could be found in the human brain, researchers say it could potentially lead to new insight into social dysfunctions associated with autism and depression.
Induced changes in the function of AgRP neurons may contribute to depression, researchers report.
Exercise promotes the hypothalamus to release MOTS-c. Mitochondrial encoded MOTS-c interacts with the nuclear genome and regulates both cell metabolism and the stress response.
Researchers found functional and anatomical differences in the brains of people who are more likely to embark on risky behaviors.
Activity in the medial preoptic area tilts the mouse brain toward love and affection, while activity in the ventromedial hypothalamus is associated with more aggressive or hateful acts.
Glutamatergic neural connections between the prelimbic prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens appear to be responsible for co-morbid anxiety and OCD behaviors.