Scientists have identified 60 proteins expressed in the brain that may be regulators of body weight. Laval University reports.
For the study, the authors focused on an area of the brain that can affect sensitivity to food rewards, such as the pleasure of eating fatty or sugary foods, as well as cognitive processes including decision making and memory. This region of the brain, the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, is thought to be responsible for appetite and satiety.
The results support the hypothesis that the brain plays a critical role in regulating body weight. This discovery may explain why body mass index varies greatly from one person to another. The changing food environment may have affected eating behavior and the ability to store energy over the past few decades, according to the researchers. “People with a genetic predisposition to increased body weight weigh more than they used to, while people without this predisposition were thin before and remain thin today,” the scientists summarize.
The authors hope that in the future this will allow for the treatment of obesity in humans.
Previously, scientists found that female spiders fake dead so male partners aren’t afraid of being beaten.