Feeding hormone ghrelin modulates ability of rewarding food to evoke dopamine release

New research findings to be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that ghrelin, a natural gut hormone that stimulates feeding, also modulates the ability of tasty food and food-related cues to alter dopamine levels within the striatum, a critical component of the brain's reward system.

Scientists measured dopamine in 'real-time' while rats ate sugar, a highly rewarding food. Administering ghrelin to rats while they ate sugar increased peak dopamine "spikes" within the , whereas administering a drug that blocks ghrelin's actions significantly reduced dopamine levels during .

Study author Dr. Mitch Roitman (University of Illinois at Chicago) says, "The modulation of brain dopamine reward signals by a gut hormone that regulates appetite strongly supports this interaction as a way to direct the organism's behavior towards further intake, perhaps by making food more rewarding. The results shed light on how peripheral body signals in general can shape brain-directed behavior."

Provided by Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior
Citation: Feeding hormone ghrelin modulates ability of rewarding food to evoke dopamine release (2011, July 12) retrieved 18 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2011-07-hormone-ghrelin-modulates-ability-rewarding.html
This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Explore further

Just expecting a tasty food activates brain reward systems

 shares

Feedback to editors