Does Obesity Have The Characteristics Of Addiction?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$430,832.00
Summary
The number of overweight or obese people in Australia has increased dramatically in recent years, increasing disease risk. The brain responds to palatable food in ways similar to the response to drugs of addiction, and this may explain why people find it hard to resist palatable food. Our work will explore whether obesity in rats has the characteristics of addiction by examining bingeing, craving, withdrawal and brain circuits in animals chronically exposed to palatable food.
Defining Reciprocal Neural Circuits That Regulate Appetite And Memory
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$341,935.00
Summary
How we remember meals influences how much we eat at later time points. This kind of memory likely comes from both the traditional brain areas associated with memory formation, and from areas associated with regulating appetite. How these two brain regions work together to help animals remember what they ate, where they found it, and whether they liked it is not known. This project investigates how these memories are formed and how they are used by animals to make decisions about future meals.
Understanding How The Brain Senses And Encodes Hunger And Satiety
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$473,477.00
Summary
Obesity is the most important health concern in the world today. Despite all the epidemiology evidence and despite the intervention approaches, obesity and type-2 diabetes continues to rise in Australia and worldwide. Clearly, a greater biological understanding of the mechanisms driving increased calorie intake and decreased calorie expenditure. This fellowship explores the different neural circuits in the brain and how they regulate motivation for food and food consumption
Hormonal Regulation Of NPY Neurons In The Arcuate Nucleus Of The Hypothalamus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$589,677.00
Summary
Obesity is a serious medical concern affecting the social, medical and economic capabilities within Australia. This proposal examines the hormonal regulation of cells in the brain inducing appetite. By understanding how these hormones influence appetite-inducing cells, we hope to identify effective targets to treat food intake and body weight gain.