Even after a good meal, some people will look for a snack. Research from the University of California, in the United States, conducted by a psychologist and a neurologist suggests that this hunger may be the result of “hungry neurons”.
The study showed that in addition to the hunger is triggered by the stomachthe organ responsible for opening the appetite when it is empty, it is also motivated by the presence of neurons that are in the region of the brain associated with feelings such as fear and anxiety and that leave the body in a state of alert.
The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Communications earlier this month and was led by psychologist Fernando Reis and neurologist Avishek Adhikari.
Dubbed food-seeking neurons, the cells are associated with an intense desire for fatty foods. They are present in the brain stem of almost all mammals, but they were believed to have an exclusive role in the manifestation of fear.
«This region that we studied is called the periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) and is located in the brain stem, which is very old in evolutionary history and, therefore, is functionally similar between humans and mice. Although our findings came as a surprise, it makes sense that foraging for food is rooted in such an ancient part of the brain, as it is something that all animals need to do,” explains Adhikari.
The researchers began their investigation by assessing how the brain was affected by anxiety. Throughout the study, however, they realized that the neurons were related to eating disorders in animals because they are associated with pleasure and the active search for food.
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