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Neurobiology of consummatory behavior: mechanisms underlying overeating and drug use
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Neurobiology of consummatory behavior: mechanisms underlying overeating and drug use

Jessica R Barson, Irene Morganstern and Sarah F Leibowitz
ILAR journal, v 53(1), pp 35-58
2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ilar.53.1.35
PMID: 23520598
Featured in Collection :   UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
url
https://academic.oup.com/ilarjournal/article-pdf/53/1/35/1854677/ilar-53-35.pdfView
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open
url
https://doi.org/10.1093/ilar.53.1.35View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Animals Consummatory Behavior - physiology Hyperphagia - physiopathology Hypothalamus - metabolism Mice Neurobiology - methods Rats Substance-Related Disorders
Consummatory behavior is driven by both caloric and emotional need, and a wide variety of animal models have been useful in research on the systems that drive consumption of food and drugs. Models have included selective breeding for a specific trait, manipulation of gene expression, forced or voluntary exposure to a substance, and identification of biomarkers that predict which animals are prone to overconsuming specific substances. This research has elucidated numerous brain areas and neurochemicals that drive consummatory behavior. Although energy homeostasis is primarily mediated by the hypothalamus, reinforcement is more strongly mediated by nuclei outside the hypothalamus, in mesocorticolimbic regions. Orexigenic neurochemicals that control food intake can provide a general signal for promoting caloric intake or a more specific signal for stimulating consumption of a particular macronutrient, fat, carbohydrate, or protein. The neurochemicals involved in controlling fat ingestion--galanin, enkephalin, orexin, melanin-concentrating hormone, and the endocannabinoids--show positive feedback with this macronutrient, as these peptides both increase fat intake and are further stimulated by its intake. This positive association offers some explanation for why foods high in fat are so often overconsumed. Consumption of ethanol, a drug of abuse that also contains calories, is similarly driven by the neurochemical systems involved in fat intake, according to evidence that closely relates fat and ethanol consumption. Further understanding of the systems involved in consummatory behavior will enable the development of effective therapies for the treatment of both overeating and drug abuse.

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2 Record Views
28 citations in Web of Science
24 citations in Scopus

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UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This publication has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

#3 Good Health and Well-Being
#2 Zero Hunger

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Web of Science research areas
Veterinary Sciences
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