The rapid weight gain after the diet was associated with the work of neurons

Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Metabolic Research and Harvard Medical School

discovered that connections in the brain change duringdiets. A study in mice found that the nerve cells that trigger hunger received a stronger signal, so animals that were on a diet ate significantly more and gained weight quickly.

The researchers put mice on a diet andobserved which circuits in the brain changed. In particular, they looked at AgRP neurons, which are located in the hypothalamus and control hunger. The analysis showed that during the diet, the neural pathways that stimulate AgRP neurons increased. This change was observed for a long time after the diet.

The scientists were able to specifically inhibit the neural pathways in mice that activate AgRP neurons. As a result of this exposure, the mice gained significantly less weight after completing the diet.

Our long-term goal is to find treatments forpeople who could help maintain body weight after a diet. In order to achieve this, we continue to study how we can block the mechanisms that control the enhancement of neural pathways in humans, as well as transmit them.

Henning Fenzelau, researcher at the Institute for Metabolic Research of the Max Planck Society

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