Study Says, Our Brain Rewards Us Twice When We Eat Food

According to the new analysis, a meal will trigger reward signals within the brain twice-first once the food is eaten and once again when the food reaches the abdomen. The study revealed within the journal ‘Cell Metabolism’, highlights how shut interactions between the brain and therefore the digestive system are able to reinforce food intake, and may even provide a clue as to why we sometimes overeat the food we crave the most.

It is a widely known proven fact that food will trigger the discharge of the ‘feel-good hormone’ Dopastat within the brain. “With the help of a new position emission imaging (PET) technique we have a tendency to developed, we weren't solely able to notice the two peaks of dopamine releases, but we could also identify the specific brain regions that were associated with these releases. whereas the primary unharness occurred in brain regions related to reward and sensory perception, the post-ingestive unharness concerned extra regions associated with higher psychological feature functions,” said senior study author Marc Tittgemeyer.

In the study, 12 healthy volunteers received either a palatable milkshake or a tasteless resolution whereas PET data were recorded. Curiously, the subjects’ desire or want for the milkshake was proportionately connected to the quantity of Dopamine discharged especially brain areas at the primary tasting. But the higher the desire, the less delayed post-ingestive dopamine was discharged.

“On one hand, dopamine release mirrors our subjective desire to consume a food item. On the opposite hand, our want looks to suppress gut-induced dopamine release,” said study co-author Heiko Backes. Suppression of gut-induced release could potentially cause over-eating of highly desired food items. “We continue to eat until sufficient dopamine was released,” added Backes. Earlier experiments have demonstrated gut-induced dopamine release in mice, but this is the first time it has been shown in humans.

Also Read: Caffeine therapy can boost brain development in preemies