Millions of people suffer from an eating disorder: compulsive overeating, anorexia, bulimia. Although food is more likely to be related to the stomach, recent studies show that it is the brain that causes these disorders.. Scientists from the University of Arizona (USA) found a network of neurons in mice that communicate with other areas of the brain, affect eating behavior and appetite.

Identifying the equivalent in the human brain, finding a way to control will help people suffering from eating disorders.

Scientists focused on a group of neurons found in the amygdala, the emotional center of the brain. It is called the "

Study.

To determine whether these neurons control eating behavior, scientists inhibited neurons in laboratory mice using a chemogenetic method. This has led to increased food intake and meal times.. When researchers activated neurons, it caused a decrease in appetite.

“By dimming the neurons inside the circuit, we can effectively block the suppression of nutrition to make us eat more,” said Haijiang Tsai, one of the authors of the study. “We used anorexia to simplify, but for obese people, we can activate these neurons to help them eat less.”.

Different parts of the brain coordinate each other to control every step of the food absorption process..

“This circuit is really exciting, it assumes that many parts and regions of the brain communicate with each other,” Tsai said.. “We hope to find a way to understand how the stages of eating are coordinated.”.

For scientists, the next step is to identify the neural network in humans, and check whether it works according to the scheme discovered in the experiment.. This will allow you to develop a way to control, help treat eating disorders - from obesity to anorexia..

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