When we catch a whiff of food cooking on the stove, our brain starts preparing our body for the incoming meal, even before we take the first bite.
How the Brain Prepares the Body for Food
A new study published in Nature Metabolism reveals that a key group of neurons, called pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons, play a significant role in mediating this process.
These neurons are located in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates appetite.
The hypothalamus contains different groups of neurons that control satiety, including POMC neurons. Emerging research has found that these neurons are activated not only while eating but also by the anticipation of food. However, the molecular factors driving this process were unclear until now.
The Role of Glycogen in POMC Neurons
Researchers have discovered that the anticipatory activation of POMC neurons is powered by pockets of glycogen, the main way the body stores energy. When the body needs fuel, it can break down glycogen into glucose.
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The study’s findings suggest that glycogen may play a more expansive role in the brain than previously thought.
To study how the sensory perception of food activates POMC neurons, the researchers presented mice with food through a wire mesh, allowing them to see and smell it but not eat it.
They found that food exposure activates glycogen synthase, the molecular machinery that synthesizes glycogen.
The researchers then engineered mouse models that lacked glycogen synthase in the POMC neurons and found that these mice did not respond as strongly to the sight and smell of food.
The team also explored which sensory components of food drive the activation of the neurons and found that POMC neurons connect with the parts of the brain that process smell, but not those that process vision.
Marc Schneeberger Pane, assistant professor in cellular and molecular physiology at Yale, says that understanding how these neurons function is essential to targeting obesity properly.
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Studying the neural circuitry driving hunger and satiety can help scientists better understand how to treat metabolic diseases like obesity, the researchers say. “Obesity is a dysregulation of the feeding circuitry at the level of the brain—it’s more of a disease of a brain than a disease of the body,” says Marc Schneeberger Pane.
Implications for Obesity and Diabetes Treatment
They may uncover new ways to treat metabolic diseases like obesity as they continue to study the neural circuitry driving hunger and satiety.
The brain prepares the body for food before it’s even consumed, highlighting the complex relationship between the brain and the body when it comes to food and metabolism.
The research reported in this news article was supported by the National Institutes of Health and Yale University, with additional support provided by the McCluskey family, the E. Matilda Ziegler Foundation, and the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research.
For more information on the neural control of metabolism, visit the National Institutes of Health website to learn about other health topics.