Neurons behind the unpleasantness of hunger discovered. The feeling of hunger is an unpleasant one that can make you irritable and stressed. While researchers had long observed this emotional component to hunger, they’ve only just discovered which part of the brain makes going without food so unpleasant. “The team found evidence it’s the desire to get rid of the unpleasant feelings associated with hunger that drives eating. A group of nerve cells called agouti-related peptide neurons (AgRP) are critical for regulating when animals eat. When calories dwindle and energy drops, AgRP are active, fueling appetite. These neurons are kicking in when we start to lose 5%, or 10% of body weight and they are a big part of why most diets fail even though people do succeed in initially losing weight.” The researchers did their study in mice and played with the activity of these neurons to get a sense of how they worked. They realized that mice did eat to turn off the activity of these neurons, rather than for the pleasure of eating. “It’s the same with people, which explains why diets are hard to keep up. But the team thinks it may be possible to manipulate the MC4 cells and fool the body into feeling the same satisfaction that comes with a full belly.

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