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Updated: Jun 4, 2026
04:48
Control of Eating Behavior Using a Novel Feedback System
Published on: May 8, 2018
Hedonic and incentive signals for body weight control
Emil Egecioglu1, Karolina P Skibicka, Caroline Hansson
1Department of Physiology, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Medicinaregatan, Sweden.
Reviews in Endocrine & Metabolic Disorders
|February 23, 2011
Summary
The brain's reward system, particularly the dopamine pathway, drives food seeking. Ghrelin (a hunger hormone) activates this system, contributing to obesity and potentially offering therapeutic targets.
Area of Science:
- Neurobiology
- Obesity Research
- Appetite Regulation
Background:
- Obesity involves overconsumption of palatable foods, driven by reward system imbalances.
- The incentive salience theory distinguishes food 'liking' (pleasure) from 'wanting' (motivation).
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the neurobiological basis of the brain's reward system in body weight regulation.
- To explore the role of dopamine and ghrelin in food reward and overeating.
Main Methods:
- Review of neurobiological understanding of reward pathways.
- Integration of findings on dopamine systems, satiety signals (leptin, insulin), and orexigenic hormones (ghrelin).
Main Results:
- The mesoaccumbal dopamine system is central to reward-seeking for natural and artificial rewards.
- Ghrelin activates this dopamine system, mediating reward from food and drugs.
- Obesity may result from altered hypothalamic-reward circuit balance or hedonic set point shifts.
Conclusions:
- Metabolic signals like leptin and insulin may fail to control reward pathways in obesity.
- Ghrelin signaling is crucial for reward from palatable foods and drugs.
- Future obesity therapies could target incentive motivation, e.g., using ghrelin antagonists.
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