The prevailing wisdom is that bigger portions have led to bigger Americans. Thus, to address the epidemic of obesity in the United States, a team of researchers from the University of Missouri wanted to see if they could discover a way to rewire our system to discourage binge eating.
The researchers deactivated the bisolateral amygdala -- the region of the brain responsible for emotion regulation -- in lab rats, hoping to curb the impulse that tells the brain to keep eating past the point of being full. Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences Matthew Will explains why they targeted this part of the brain:
Humans have more programming to start and continue eating than to stop eating, especially when they have a bowl of ice cream in front of them. Most of us would finish it even if we weren't hungry.It's a vestigial survival instinct -- one that's a disservice in light of abundant and calorie-rich food. The binging impulse that kept our ancestors alive is likely what is sending us to an early grave. And it's all based on the euphoria we feel while working our way towards the bottom of a pint of Ben & Jerry's.
The bisolateral amydala controls the release of opioids -- chemicals that tie pleasure into eating, even when a rat (or human) is not hungry. With this portion of the brain turned off, the scientists discovered that, while the rats didn't lose the will or desire to continue to search for fatty food, they wouldn't eat it without the stimulus from the brain.
"Normally, if a rat stops eating, they will go lay down and take it easy. In this case, they showed all signs of still wanting to eat, but didn't."Outside of the rats' regular behavior sounding like me at Thanksgiving, the research by Will and his team seems to support the great promise of weight-loss drugs and appetite-curbing remedies: You can watch other people eat a pizza -- you can even go pick it up for them -- but you won't feel the urge to eat a slice.
Perhaps this is one benefit we might finally realize from the fact that, on a daily basis, we fail to use all of our brains.
[Image via Flickr: dan4th]
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