Abstract: A brand new examine identifies neurons within the hippocampus that retailer food-specific recollections, straight influencing overeating and physique weight. These neurons, which encode recollections for sugar and fats, act as “reminiscence traces” that drive dietary conduct and metabolism. Silencing these neurons in mice disrupted sugar-related recollections, lowered consumption, and prevented weight achieve, even on high-sugar diets.
The findings spotlight how reminiscence programs developed for survival now contribute to overeating in fashionable food-rich environments. The examine reveals particular mind circuits for sugar and fats recollections, opening doorways for focused weight problems therapies. This analysis underscores the essential function of reminiscence in shaping dietary conduct and metabolic well being.
Key Info:
- Reminiscence and Overeating: Food-specific recollections saved in hippocampal neurons affect consuming conduct and physique weight.
- Neural Specialization: Separate neurons encode sugar and fats recollections, with distinct results on consumption.
- Therapeutic Potential: Focusing on these circuits may disrupt overeating and enhance metabolic well being.
Supply: Monell Chemical Senses Middle
Can reminiscence affect what and the way a lot we eat? A groundbreaking Monell Chemical Senses Middle examine, which hyperlinks meals reminiscence to overeating, answered that query with a powerful “Sure.”
Led by Monell Affiliate Member Guillaume de Lartigue, PhD, the analysis workforce recognized, for the primary time, the mind’s food-specific reminiscence system and its direct function in overeating and diet-induced weight problems.
Printed in Nature Metabolism, they describe a selected inhabitants of neurons within the mouse mind that encode recollections for sugar and fats, profoundly impacting meals consumption and physique weight.
“In at the moment’s world, we’re always bombarded with ads and environmental triggers designed to remind us of pleasurable meals experiences,” mentioned Dr. de Lartigue.
“What’s stunning is that we’ve pinpointed a selected inhabitants of neurons within the hippocampus that not solely types these food-related recollections but additionally drives our consuming conduct. This connection may have important implications for physique weight and metabolic well being.”
These neurons encode recollections of the spatial location of nutrient-rich meals, appearing as a “reminiscence hint,” significantly for sugar and fats.
Silencing these neurons impairs an animal’s means to recall sugar-related recollections, reduces sugar consumption, and prevents weight achieve, even when animals are uncovered to diets that contribute to extreme weight achieve.
Conversely, reactivating these neurons enhances reminiscence for meals, growing consumption and demonstrating how meals recollections affect dietary conduct.
These findings introduce two new ideas: first, proof that particular neurons within the mind retailer food-related recollections, and second, that these recollections straight affect meals consumption.
“Whereas it’s no shock that we keep in mind pleasurable meals experiences, it was lengthy assumed that these recollections had little to no affect on consuming conduct,” mentioned Dr. de Lartigue.
“What’s most stunning is that inhibition of those neurons prevents weight achieve, even in response to diets wealthy in fats and sugar.”
Reminiscence’s Underappreciated Function
Reminiscence is usually ignored as a key driver of meals consumption, however this examine demonstrates a direct hyperlink between reminiscence and metabolism. What units this discovery aside from different research associated to reminiscence is its implications for understanding metabolic well being.
Deleting sugar-responsive neurons within the hippocampus of the animals not solely disrupts reminiscence but additionally reduces sugar consumption and protects towards weight achieve, even when animals are uncovered to high-sugar diets.
This highlights a direct hyperlink between sure mind circuits concerned in reminiscence and metabolic well being, which has been largely ignored within the discipline of weight problems analysis.
“Reminiscence programs within the hippocampus developed to assist animals find and keep in mind meals sources essential for survival,” mentioned first creator Mingxin Yang, a College of Pennsylvania doctoral pupil within the de Lartigue lab.
“In fashionable environments, the place meals is ample and cues are all over the place, these reminiscence circuits might drive overeating, contributing to weight problems.”
Particular, But Unbiased Circuits
One other key discovery is that food-related recollections are extremely particular. Sugar-responsive neurons encode and affect solely sugar-related recollections and consumption, whereas fat-responsive neurons affect solely fats consumption. These neurons don’t have an effect on different varieties of reminiscence, similar to spatial reminiscence for non-food-related duties.
“The specificity of those circuits is fascinating,” mentioned de Lartigue.
“It underscores how finely tuned the mind is for linking meals to conduct, guaranteeing animals can differentiate between varied nutrient sources of their surroundings.”
We’ve got separate varieties of neurons that encode reminiscence for meals wealthy in fats versus reminiscence for meals wealthy in sugar. These separate programs presumably developed as a result of meals in nature not often comprise each fats and sugar, surmise the authors.
Implications for Treating Weight problems
The examine’s findings open new prospects for addressing overeating and weight problems. By concentrating on hippocampal reminiscence circuits, it could be potential to disrupt the reminiscence triggers that drive consumption of unhealthy, calorie-dense meals.
“These neurons are essential for linking sensory cues to meals consumption,” mentioned Dr. de Lartigue. “Their means to affect each reminiscence and metabolism makes them promising targets for treating weight problems in at the moment’s food-rich world.”
Funding: This collaborative examine was carried out with colleagues from the College of Pennsylvania and the College of Southern California and was supported by the Nationwide Institutes of Health and the American Coronary heart Affiliation.
About this reminiscence and weight problems analysis information
Creator: Karen Kreeger
Supply: Monell Chemical Senses Middle
Contact: Karen Kreeger – Monell Chemical Senses Middle
Picture: The picture is credited to Neuroscience Information
Unique Analysis: Open entry.
“Separate orexigenic hippocampal ensembles form dietary alternative by enhancing contextual reminiscence and motivation” by Guillaume de Lartigue et al. Nature Metabolism
Summary
Separate orexigenic hippocampal ensembles form dietary alternative by enhancing contextual reminiscence and motivation
The hippocampus (HPC) has emerged as a essential participant within the management of meals consumption, past its well-known function in reminiscence.
Whereas earlier research have primarily related the HPC with meals consumption inhibition, current analysis suggests a job in appetitive processes.
Right here we recognized spatially distinct neuronal populations inside the dorsal HPC (dHPC) that reply to both fat or sugars, potent pure reinforcers that contribute to weight problems improvement.
Utilizing activity-dependent genetic seize of nutrient-responsive dHPC neurons, we display a causal function of each populations in selling nutrient-specific consumption via totally different mechanisms.
Sugar-responsive neurons encoded spatial reminiscence for sugar location, whereas fat-responsive neurons selectively enhanced the desire and motivation for fats consumption.
Importantly, stimulation of both nutrient-responsive dHPC neurons elevated meals consumption, whereas ablation differentially impacted obesogenic food plan consumption and prevented diet-induced weight achieve.
Collectively, these findings uncover beforehand unknown orexigenic circuits underlying macronutrient-specific consumption and supply a basis for growing potential weight problems therapies.
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