The doctor explains how the mechanisms in the head are arranged that make us want or not want to eat
There are areas in the brain that suppress or stimulate appetite - the centers of regulation of energy balance. Easier - centers of hunger and satiety.
It is to these centers that information about saturation is sent from the stomach along the fibers of the vagus nerve (in Latin, nevus vagus). But this information may be inaccurateif the physical saturation is ahead of the chemical one. This happens when a person eats quickly and feels full when the stomach is already distended. About the benefits slow chewing foodwhen there are no such disagreements, we just recently spoke.
Where do hunger and satiety come from?
The brain receives information from the vagus nerve about how much intestinal hormones have been released and is exposed to other biologically active substances, including insulin. And based on all these signals, the areas that suppress or stimulate appetite react accordingly: urge us to eat immediately or suppress the desire to eat.
- Insulin, leptin, serotonin - hormones that suppress (normally) appetite.
- Ghrelin - one of the intestinal hormones, it suppresses all your interests and makes only one feeling dominant - wolf hunger.
The “headquarters”, where we decide whether we want to eat or not, is located in the hypothalamus. In this small (3-4 cm) organ, cells coexist with exactly the opposite effect: some produce substances that discourage appetite (proopiomelanocortin, cocaine-amphetamine-regulated transcript), while others synthesize substances that, on the contrary, stimulate the desire to eat (neuropeptide, agouti-like peptide).
There are a number of zones (second-order neurons), which are also affected by hunger and appetite, but to a lesser extent.
In the brain stem is the second most important area - the dorsal vagal center. It receives signals from the periphery, transmits them to the arcuate nuclei and provides a major impact on what, when and how much we eat.
In addition, there are areas in our brain that perceive food. as pleasure, not as energy. Excessive activity of these zones is observed in people with eating disorders.
All parts of the brain are closely interconnected by numerous neural connections, and the signal entering one structure will reach the entire system and quickly enough.
In general, the simultaneous existence of our centers of hunger and satiety - it's kind of a system of checks and balances.
Continuation
Your Doctor Pavlova
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