A team of researchers discovered that the desire for sweet foods after a generous meal, irresistible in some even in case of satiety, would be listed in our brain for millennia.
- Researchers have discovered that our desire for dessert after a meal is linked to a brain mechanism. POMC neurons, responsible for satiety, also release ß-endorphine, a natural opiate, in response to sugar, creating a feeling of reward.
- This reaction, specific to sugar and observed in mice and humans, could explain our instinctive attraction for sweet foods.
- These discoveries open up new avenues to treat obesity by targeting this specific cerebral circuit.
We may have a full stomach, many of us not being able to do without a sweet note to close the meal. Researchers from the Max-Planck Institute for Metabolism Research in Germany have discovered that this phenomenon, often baptized Stomach dessert (literally, dessert belly), finds its origin in the brain. Their study, published in the journal Sciencereveals that the same neurons responsible for the feeling of satiety are also involved in attraction for sweet foods after a meal.
Sugar -related brain activation
To understand this mechanism, the researchers observed the satisfied mouse behavior in the face of sugar. Even after being fed until satiety, these rodents continued to consume sugar. By analyzing their brain activity, scientists were able to identify a group of neurons, Pomc neurons, which are specifically activated in contact with sugar.
When these mice already reputed ingest sugar, their Pomc neurons release not only satiety signals, but also a natural opiate substance of the body: ß-endorphine. This stimulates opiate receptors in other neurons, generating a feeling of reward that pushes mice to continue consuming sugar, even when they are no longer hungry.
Interestingly, this brain response does not occur with other types of foods such as fatty food. In addition, the simple fact of perceiving sugar, even before swallowing it, already activates this cerebral circuit. Experience has also shown that this mechanism was set up from the first exposure to sugar, even in mice who had never consumed it before …
Implications for treating obesity?
The study was then transposed to man thanks to brain examinations carried out on volunteers who received a sweet solution. The researchers found that the same brain region reacted to sugar, and that this area contained many opiate receivers close to the neurons of satiety. “From an evolutionary point of view, that makes sense: sugar is rare in nature but offers rapid energy, so our brain is programmed to consume it as soon as it is available”they explain in a press release.
These discoveries could have significant consequences on the treatment of obesity. “Medicines blocking opiate receivers already exist, but their effect on weight loss is lower than that of appetite supple and appetite, Scientists are said. We believe that a combination with other therapies could be promising, but additional research is necessary. “ The fact remains that this opens the way to new avenues to combat overconsumption of sugar and its dramatic consequences on health.
