The More You Eat, The More You Want To Eat

High Fat Diet Triggers Neurological Tendency To Eat More link
By Petra Rattue
5/28/2012

 

So as you may or may not know (depending on whether you read my blog and/or other neuroscience sources) it is well known that neurogenesis (new neurons forming in the brain after birth) does indeed happen in a few very specific places: the hippocampus and the olfactory bulb. What is amazing about this new study is that the scientists Seth Blackshaw PhD has found a new location where neurogenesis can occur - the hypothalamus. Not only is that incredible by itself, but Blackshaw and his team went a step further and found that this location for neurogenesis was originally beneficial for our ancestors when fatty foods were scarce and those foods were good for the body - AKA not beneficial for us today where fatty foods are at our beck and call (and our instinctual tendency to crave such foods is no longer beneficial to our survival). Through their experiments they found the more fatty foods you have the more neurogenesis will occur, but only making new neurons that encourage behavior of having a high fat diet. Blackshaw explains: "People typically think growing new neurons in the brain is a good thing - but it's really just another way for the brain to modify behavior." If these studies continue to prove positive, Blackshaw is very excitaed about the prospect of being able to develop new obesity treatments by blocking hypothalamic neurogenesis!