Researchers at the University of Cologne found that leptin caused moderately hungry mice to choose sex over food. The results of the work of scientists have been published. magazine Cell Metabolism.
Leptin is a hormone related to the feeling of satiety. If it affected the hungry rodents’ brains, they stopped any eating behavior. Instead, the hormone provoked social activity.
As part of the study, the team stimulated mouse neurons in the hypothalamus. They focused on neurons responsible for leptin and neurotensin, two hormones associated with hunger and thirst. The authors found that these neurons also play a role in controlling social behavior and helping mice balance their nutritional and social needs.
“We can prioritize one: eating behavior or sexual behavior. Our brain has to somehow figure out what our most pressing need is. Activation of leptin receptor neurons causes the mice to prioritize social interaction despite acute hunger or thirst. One can ignore hunger or thirst in order to mate,” the authors write. He says it’s biologically logical.
To see how the mice’s priorities changed according to their hunger levels, the team compared the behavior of mice from different groups (the first group had unlimited access to food, the second didn’t eat all night, and the third didn’t eat for five days). day). The researchers then used light and chemical signals to selectively excite the neurons, allowing them to observe changes in the mice’s behavior.
The stimulation apparently had little effect on the behavior of the fed and fasting rodents, but the priorities of the mice in the second group changed: they approached food more slowly, ate less overall, and spent more time communicating with potential partners.
“Next, we want to understand how the activity of these cells changes during the development of obesity or eating disorders,” the researchers said.