In the brain’s cerebellum, a new target for suppressing hunger:
People with Prader Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder, have an insatiable appetite. They never feel full, even after a hearty meal. The result can be life-threatening overeating and obesity.
According to a new study, their constant hunger results in part to disordered signaling in the brain’s cerebellum, a region of the brain also responsible for motor control and learning. An international research team spanning 12 institutions, led by J. Nicholas Betley, an assistant professor of biology in Penn’s School of Arts & Sciences, and Albert I. Chen, an associate professor at the Scintillion Institute, in San Diego, used clues from Prader Willi patients to guide investigations in mice that uncovered a subset of cerebellar neurons that signals satiation after eating.
When the researchers activated these neurons, the magnitude of the effect "was enormous," accordingly to Betley. The animals ate just as often as typical mice, but each of their meals was 50-75% smaller.
[...] "It's amazing that you can still find areas of the brain that are important for basic survival behaviors that we had never before implicated," Betley says. "And these brain regions are important in robust ways."
Journal Reference:
Aloysius Y. T. Low, Nitsan Goldstein, Jessica R. Gaunt, et al. Reverse-translational identification of a cerebellar satiation network, Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-04143-5)
(Score: -1, Flamebait) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @03:41PM (5 children)
Do you want to lose ten ugly pounds?
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Miss you, Dad.
(Score: -1, Offtopic) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @04:29PM (4 children)
I was not aiming to incite flames. I was only pointing out that, once the brain is removed, people tend to eat a lot less. This result is repeatable.
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Oh, and my dad did tell me that joke... I mean, I assumed he was joking. RIP old man.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @04:45PM
Of course, removal of the brain was not helpful for Runaway.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Azuma Hazuki on Monday November 22 2021, @05:33PM (2 children)
Uhhh...have you *seen* like *anywhere* in the US south of the Mason-Dixon line?
I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @05:40PM
That would appear to be stunting or atrophy - not excision. (IMHO)
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @06:58PM
Dad joke > miserable joke lefty
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday November 22 2021, @04:10PM (5 children)
If they could suppress BOTH hunger and horniness, this could improve software developer efficiency significantly.
But then, I realize that video games must also be dealt with. (but those do not appeal to me)
And then there is the issue of online web forums with geek topics.
(and only an idiot would begin or end a sentence with the word and.)
Maybe dealing only with hunger is a good start. A bottle of Smart Water, and you're good for the day.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Monday November 22 2021, @04:59PM (4 children)
This could be an interesting topic of conversation, albeit offtopic. Why don't they appeal to you? Is it something you can reason about or is it just a simple emotional response? Are there any video games that you play now? Were there in the past, and how were they for you?
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Monday November 22 2021, @05:35PM (3 children)
Offtopic warning. Answer to question. Stop here unless you want to read further.
About 30 years ago I played logic games. Before that in the 1980s, I played a few of the "text adventure" type of games. The last and most favorite was Infocom's Suspended on an Apple II in mid 1980s.
I've had a bit of fun with a few of the early modern console games. Mario comes to mind. But I quickly lost interest.
I never had any interest in the modern FPS type games. And really in the modern computer games in general. It's not that I'm not impressed with the amazing technology. It's just that the games don't really appeal to me.
I think the main reason, over my entire lifetime, is that I found more interesting things. After ending Infocom's Suspended in mid 1980's, I started learning Lisp. Then I got XLisp from CompuServe. Later Macintosh Common Lisp for $495 on floppy disks. Updates were free or cheap. I bought many Lisp and AI related books. Subscribed to AI Magazine. Didn't put down Lisp or symbolic computing for about six years.
I mostly have entertained myself with computer languages, algorithms, data structures, etc. And books on those. Also an interest in compiler design and implementation. Later interest in Computer Algebra Systems, which I am still fascinated with today.
The only emotional reaction I have to video games is that it seems like young people waste an astonishing amount of time and money on them. But back in the day people entertained themselves in front of the TV. So I can't judge video games as being worse. Then there is social media.
I don't know if that really answers your question.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 22 2021, @07:09PM
Yep. First they convince you that there is no harm in a few quick hits of Minesweeper or Freecell. They give it to you free.
Soon you've moved to the harder stuff - Spider and Sudoku.
Finally one day you find yourself under a jacked-up vehicle, boosting everybody else's catalytic converters, just so you can afford to buy a rig capable of running the latest, greatest 3-D video game at 120 frames/second.
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"I can't get no - satisfaction" - Rolling Stones
(Score: 2) by acid andy on Monday November 22 2021, @09:49PM (1 child)
I think so. I wasn't really looking for any particular kind of answer. I just found it an interesting talking point.
Yes you may agree that programming is one of the best, most fun, logic games.
Personally, I do enjoy the eye candy of modern games but I must admit I do start to feel that many games are too much about consuming rather than creating. I like to create interesting, meaningful stuff.
One area I think some of the games do excel though, even over something like programming, is satisfying feelings of competitiveness. For example, I particularly enjoy realistic driving games. The intense concentration involved is strangely rewarding as well.
If a cat has kittens, does a rat have rittens, a bat bittens and a mat mittens?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday November 22 2021, @10:48PM
A former coworker was into that. He had quite a rig hooked up to his PC. Three monitors. A drivers seat. Steering wheel. Various displays, lights, buttons and controls operated by microcontrollers -- and connected in to the game! These things gave him an edge.
The whole rig was one giant piece made of wood, with place for the PC and everything all wired up.
He would bring it into the office on some Saturdays when there was some kind of big competition. Our small office internet is vastly superior to any residential internet I've ever seen ever. It is fiber to a "drain" a couple states away, connected to the corporate backbone.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.