AI Summary
The study discusses the presence of food-seeking cells in a part of a mouse's brain typically associated with panic rather than feeding. Activating these cells in mice led to intense cravings for fatty foods, with the mice even enduring foot shocks to obtain them. If this is also true in humans, it could provide insight into a circuit that influences eating behavior outside of normal hunger cues.
A new study has shown that food-seeking cells exist in a part of a mouse’s brain usually associated with panic — but not with feeding. Activating a selective cluster of these cells kicked mice into ‘hot pursuit’ of live and non-prey food, and showed a craving for fatty foods intense enough that the mice endured foot shocks to get them, something full mice normally would not do. If true in humans, who also carry these cells, the findings could help address the circuit that can circumvent the normal hunger pressures of ‘how, what and when to eat.’