[Regulation of food intake]

Food intake results in distention of the stomach with subsequent activation of afferent vagal fibers via gastric stretch receptors. The afferent vagal fibers transmit the information about the volume of a meal to the regulatory center in the hypothalamus. Apart from this neurally mediated pathway there is most likely a hormonally mediated regulatory loop which is activated by the chemical constituents of a meal. Neural and hormonal factors activate inhibitory neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus which signal termination of food intake. The exact nature of the peripherally activated hormonal signal and the interaction between the various stimulatory and inhibitory hypothalamic neurotransmitters are as yet largely unknown.