Study reveals gut-brain circuits drive cravings for fatty foods Brain Diabetes GutBrainAxis MetabolicDisorders Neurons Obesity Stroke Nature HHMINEWS Columbia ZuckermanBrain
Study: Gut-Brain Circuits for Fat Preference. Image Credit: Pikovit / Shutterstock
First, they identified the vagal neurons responding to intestinal fat delivery using single-cell data. Next, the team recorded the activity of vagal neurons to alternating gut stimulation with fat and sugar to examine how vagal neurons respond to these two nutrient signals in the gut. Remarkably, they evaluated over 1800 vagal sensory neurons from 22 nodoses.
Experiments with mice showed that after 48 hours, all mice preferred the bottle containing fat. This behavioral switch demonstrated that while artificial sweeteners send signals to the brain only after tasting but not after swallowing, fat continues to alert the brain post-ingestion even after it reaches the gut, thus driving our desire for it.