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Brain mechanisms in the control of feeding: a new neurochemical profile theory
Abstract:
A new theory is presented in which two profiles of chemical activity are postulated to regulate the intake of food. One is a peripheral profile which consists of the ratio of all blood-borne substances, one to another, that are involved in energy balance, lipid deposition, and other aspects of long and intermediate term regulation. The changes in the ratio are presumably monitored by structures in the CNS. The second profile consists of the chemical activity of transmitter and other neurohumoral factors within the same structures in the CNS. The ratio in their release provides appropriate neural signals which serve to activate or inhibit the various events of the feeding mechanism. The preliminary attempts to characterize, by GC-mass spectrometry, profile constituents in samples of fluid collected from the fasted and satiated cat are described. The recent results of experiments on the role of the forebrain catecholamines in food intake are also presented.
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