"Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (chemical that signals between neurons) that is a central mediator of reward and motivation in the brain. It has been known for decades that dopamine injections into the brain suppress food intake, and that this is due primarily to its action in the hypothalamus, which is the main region that regulates body fatness (1). Dopamine-producing neurons from reward centers contact neurons in the hypothalamus that regulate body fatness (2). I recently came across a paper by a researcher named Dr. Hanno Pijl, from Leiden University in the Netherlands (3). The paper is a nice overview of the evidence linking dopamine signaling with body fatness via its effects on the hypothalamus, and I recommend it to any scientists out there who want to read more about the concept.

"Increased dopamine signaling, particularly through the dopamine D2 receptor, can attenuate and in some cases reverse obesity in diet-induced obese animals, seasonally obese animals (squirrels, Syrian hamsters, etc.), and overweight/obese humans (4). Not only that, it can increase resting metabolic rate and attenuate the metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity even before the fat is lost, which emphasizes that these circuits control metabolism directly, as well as indirectly by influencing fat mass (5)*. Conversely, people who have genetic or drug-induced reductions in D2 receptor signaling gain fat at an accelerated rate (6, 7)."

# posted by seventeennightsinthecity @ 1:51 PM