Research Hit: When Your Brain Stills Wants Dessert
New research shows we have brain cells that override satiety for sugar
Are you talking about when we have just eaten a hearty meal and even though we are feeling full we still feel like dessert?
Precisely, and I confess, I have a real sweet tooth. I can always find place for dessert, or biscuits (cookies for you Americans), and in pretty substantial quantities.
And this is controlled in the brain or stomach?
Well, in theory the stomach sends signals to the brain which should release various transmitters which communicate satiety. But our experience shows this is not the only part and so researchers have turned to mice to explore what is happening precisely.
And did they discover our dessert neurons?
Yes, they did, actually.
They found brain cells deep in the brain in regions associated with eating and appetite called POMC neurons. What they found is that when mice are satiated and were given sugar that these cells released an opiate that triggered opioid pathways in other regions in the brain. This leads to a rewarding feeling and encouraged eating even though full.
If they turned this pathway off, this stopped the desire to eat sweet things when full. The effect was only seen with sugar, and not normal or fatty foods. So it is definitely a “dessert pathway”.
Interesting!
Yes, and even more interesting is this was also activated in mice just by looking at sweet things: that feeling of seeing dessert and thinking, “Oh yes, I’d fancy bit of that!”
I know that feeling well!
Yes, indeed.
And is this the same in humans?
Well, as I describe the above you saw how easy it is to relate to - so it seems to feel right. But they did see precisely this in human brains: these type of brain cells sit in the related regions in human brains and similarly close to satiety cells.
They will have to study that, obviously - but that also opens up more pathways for dealing with obesity and overeating issues.
Without drugs how can we deal with this?
Don’t look at dessert.
Easier said than done!
Reference
Marielle Minère, Hannah Wilhelms, Bojana Kuzmanovic, et al.
Thalamic opioids from POMC satiety neurons switch on sugar appetite.
Science, 2025; 387 (6735): 750
DOI: 10.1126/science.adp1510