Hunger

A new study saw cognitive improvements in mice when compounds activating both ghrelin and dopamine receptors were administered

Medical

Hunger hormone linked to memory deficits in Alzheimer’s

Ghrelin, the “hunger hormone”, has been associated with brain lesions thought to play a role in cognitive decline seen in Alzheimer's.

Tailoring food supplements to improve gut microbiome development has resulted in better therapeutic foods to treat malnutrition in children

Health & Wellbeing

Gut-microbiome-boosting diet designed to better help malnourished children

New research suggests malnutrition in children can be better treated by therapeutic foods designed to boost and repair the gut microbiome. A clinical trial targeting malnourished children in Bangladesh revealed a newly developed therapeutic food is superior to conventional supplements.

Discovering how the brain suppresses chronic pain when hungry could lead researchers to new and novel forms of pain medications

Science

Study reveals how hunger can override our feelings of chronic pain

New research from neuroscientists at the University of Pennsylvania has found that chronic pain can be suppressed by feelings of hunger. This unique evolutionary quirk, controlled by a very small population of brain cells, could offer researchers novel new targets for pain treatments.

Experiments have shown how the stomach sends messages to the brain to keep eating or stop depending on the calorie content of the food consumed

Biology

Hijacking gut-brain communications can shut down hunger pangs

A new study has uncovered the mechanism by which our gut communicates with the brain to regulate the sensation of hunger. The researchers also discovered a novel combination of hormones that can mimic the signal sent to our brain telling it that enough food has been consumed.

A new study may have uncovered a mechanism that explains how our brains direct our bodies to stop burning fat and adjust to a lowered caloric intake.

Health & Wellbeing

Study suggests the brain's to blame for yo-yo dieting cycle

Many will have felt encouraged by an initial loss of weight when starting a diet before hitting a disheartening plateau or even regaining weight. A new study suggests our brains could be to blame, by directing our bodies to stop burning fat in response to a reduction in caloric intake.

The researchers say that turing protein-craving circuits on and off in the brain could someday be used to fight obesity

Biology

Researchers turn protein cravings on and off in the brain

Adding to that burgeoning body of knowledge of nutrient-specific hunger, researchers have figured out how protein cravings work in the brains of fruit flies. What's more, they were able to switch them on and off.