Hungry for rewards - insulin in the midbrain influences eating behaviour

(Research Publication of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft)

Still hungry - or already full? The brain controls eating behaviour and curbs our appetite when the body has consumed enough energy. It obtains its information about the degree of satiety from various messenger substances, of which insulin plays an important role. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research and the Cluster of Excellence in Cellular Stress Responses in Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD) at the University of Cologne have now discovered that in mice, insulin not only acts as a metabolic signal transmitter in the hypothalamus, a fact that is already known, but also in the dopamine-producing cells of the midbrain. The switching off of the insulin receptors in these neurons causes gluttony and overweight.

Please find more information in the press release attached.

Illustration: Dr. Christine Könner, insulin influence in catecholaminergic cells regulate food intake and energy homeostasis.