Most people know that worrying and stress lower serotonin levels ... and that food can raise serotonin and well-being back to a balanced level. But why do some people worry or stress out one minute… and then eat too much the next… in constantly recurring cycles?
Did you know that overeating often results from miscommunications between your brain and your stomach? Interestingly… researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory just discovered new clues to how the brain and the stomach interact when emotions jump into the mix …to cause overeating. 
Scientists were interested in how obesity can result as a result of miscommunications between the brain and the body. They observed how the brain responds to “I’m full” signals sent to the brain by an implanted device that stimulated the stomach. Through these signals researchers identified brain circuits that trigger the desire to overeat as they are found in obese people.
Interestingly, the active overeat signals are the same circuits seen in addicted individuals when they crave drugs. They also discovered circuits that impact eating behaviors linked to calming negative emotions. Check out the study appears in the October 17, 2006 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, published online in PNAS Early Edition the week of October 2.
Researchers simulated the process that takes place when the stomach is full, and for the first time … they observed the pathway from the stomach to the brain that can turn off the brain's desire to continue eating. They planted gastric stimulators in seven obese individuals one to two years. Much like a pacemaker, stimulators gave low level electrical stimulation to the vagus nerve, causing the stomach to expand and produce peptides that send messages of "fullness" to the brain.
The device reduced any desire to eat … and showed the hippocampus as one key brain region linked to hunger responses. The study offered clues to how certain signals sent by the stomach affect eating behavior controlled by the brain. The stimulators also showed brain circuits in the frontal cortex and striatum, which are linked to craving and drug dependency
Connections between the hippocampus, the emotions, and the desire to eat, show how obese people use food to soothe their emotions and may offer ideas for treating and preventing obesity. Stay tuned at Brain Based Business for the next stage of this study… which could help us all to grab a healthy snack with water … rather than a doughnut and sugar laden drink. What do you think...?
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