Over the last decade, investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) have been at the forefront of the effort to identify the small population of neurons deep within the brain that cause hunger, but precisely how these cells and the unpleasant feeling of hunger they cause actually drive an animal to find and eat food remained unclear. Now, a study published in the journal Nature sheds new light on this long-standing question. Led by Bradford B. Lowell, MD, PhD, of the Division of Endocrinology at BIDMC, the study makes use of a genetically engineered mouse model developed at BIDMC to reveal the complex interplay among the neurons that govern hunger, behavior and learning.
