Posted on 02/05/2023 2:47:33 PM PST by ConservativeMind
Scientists are looking more closely at a brain structure involved in motivation, called the nucleus accumbens. This small region drives reward-seeking behaviors underlying the pursuit of sex, recreational drugs like nicotine and alcohol, and food.
"Brain motivation centers help us survive," said Carrie Ferrario, Ph.D.
Previous research from Ferrario's lab pinpointed differences in the nucleus accumbens in obesity-prone and obesity-resistant rats. Their latest study tracked what was happening in the brain when these animals were presented with glucose, a type of sugar, labeled with a tracer.
Sugar is the brain's main fuel source, and once there, the molecule is broken down and used to create new molecules such as glutamine, glutamate, and GABA, each with an important role in influencing the activation of neurons in the brain and nervous system.
"Glucose that is consumed gets broken down and then its carbons get incorporated into neurotransmitters. We see those labeled carbons showing up in those molecules—glutamate, glutamine, and GABA—over time," explained Vollbrecht.
They found that glucose was taking longer to get into the nucleus accumbens of obesity-prone animals.
Furthermore, when measuring the concentration of the glutamate, glutamine, and GABA, they discovered excess levels of glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter. This implied a defect in a neurotransmitter recycling process, typically maintained in the nervous system by star-shaped cells called astrocytes.
Normally, astrocytes will pull glutamate out of the space between neurons, called the synapse, convert it into glutamine, and then shuttle it back to cells that produce GABA or glutamate. This sequence is crucial for turning neurons off and on. "The findings suggest that we're getting too much glutamate and it's not being taken out of the synapse," said Vollbrecht.
Ferrario added, "The balance between glutamate and GABA (the main inhibitory transmitter) is really important for neurons in the nucleus accumbens."
(Excerpt) Read more at medicalxpress.com ...
Very interesting. Thanks for posting.
How about obesity-resistant “pubs”?
They use rats ‘cause nobody cares when you dissect their brains.
Thanks. Wonder how many emaciated Ethiopians during the 80’s could have survived if they knew their brain cells handled glucose differently.
A doctor who the late Mrs. Chajin saw over a decade ago was reasonably well-versed in Dr. Amen’s brain studies. The doc was convinced that one of the major neurochemical issues was the accumulation of glutamate in the brain, and recommended liposomal glutathione to remove the excess glutamate. He didn’t say anything about it affecting the tendency to obesity, but it would be interesting if that were an additional benefit.
Lol, way to "sugarcoat" it!
Low dose naltrexone is suppose to help with the glutamate issue.
You should check into Dr Christopher Palmer’s work in brain metabolism and treatment of psychiatric disorders by correcting metabolic disorders.
https://www.youtube.com/live/WjY_pmIyXnw?feature=share
Interview starts about 20 minutes in.
I’ve never seen an obese rat. Are there any obesity prone rats in real life or is it just lab rats?
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