Hypothalamus News and Research

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The Hypothalamus is the area of the brain that controls body temperature, hunger, and thirst.

Hap1 protein could lead to future drug targets for eating disorders

Researchers have discovered how the protein Hap1, which is abundant in the brain's hypothalamus, serves as the link between circulating insulin in the blood and the neural circuitry that controls feeding behavior in mice.

16 Apr 2006

Research provides clues to obesity's cause

Hot fudge sundaes and french fries aside, new research suggests obesity is due at least in part to an attraction between leptin, the hormone that signals the brain when to stop eating, and a protein more recently associated with heart disease.

13 Apr 2006

Men's and women's brains behave differently

A key part of the brain involved in processing emotionally-influenced memories acts differently in men and women, even in the absence of stimuli, UC Irvine researchers have found.

11 Apr 2006

Leptin may lead to new approaches for curbing appetite

11 Apr 2006

Anabolic steroids flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression

Anabolic steroids not only make teens more aggressive, but may keep them that way into young adulthood. The effect ultimately wears off but there may be other, lasting consequences for the developing brain.

27 Feb 2006

Steroids trigger long lasting aggression in teens

According to a U.S. study steroids may have a lasting effect on teenagers' brains, and could even flip the adolescent brain's switch for aggression which may last for at least two years.

27 Feb 2006

Hormone discovered in bird brains also plays major role in mammalian reproductive system

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a new actor in the mammalian reproductive system, a hormone that fills a role long suspected, but until now undetected.

7 Feb 2006

Leptin, brain and body weight

Researchers have identified a new area of the brain that responds to the fat hormone leptin in regulating body weight and energy expenditure. They said that the region seems to be particularly important in enabling the body to resist weight gain from a high-fat diet.

18 Jan 2006

Molecular disruption of hypothalamic nutrient sensing induces obesity

In their latest finding on the brain's role in controlling appetite and weight, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have shown that reducing levels of fatty acids in the hypothalamus causes rats to overeat and become obese. Their results suggest that restoring fatty-acid levels in the brain may be a promising way to treat obesity.

16 Jan 2006

Insight into how marajuana induced munchies works

Marijuana--or more specifically its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol--has a well-documented tendency to stimulate hunger. And while scientists have traced this property to cannabinoid receptors in the brain, they have had little understanding of the neural circuitry underlying this effect.

22 Dec 2005

Study finds light sensing cells develop before vision

Investigators at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that cells making up a non-visual system in the eye are in place and functioning long before the rods and cones that process light into vision.

22 Dec 2005

Women more sensitive to chronic stress than men

"It's generally understood that females respond more strongly to acute (immediate, short-term) stress than males," said Helmer Figueiredo, PhD, of UC's department of psychiatry. "Our research shows that this may also be the case in more clinically relevant chronic-stress conditions."

20 Nov 2005

Bright light therapy may aid patients with depressive and bipolar disorders

A report in the November Cell Metabolism reveals powerful effects of light on the adrenal glands, a finding that might explain the broad benefits of bright light therapy for a variety of conditions, including sleep and depressive disorders, according to researchers.

14 Nov 2005

New discovery helps explain complex neurocircuitry behind body weight control

A study led by a scientific team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) provides another important step in our understanding of the critical role that the brain's molecular pathways play in the development of obesity and related disorders.

7 Nov 2005

Talk therapy effective treatment for seasonal affective disorder

The alterations start every year around October just after the end of daylight savings time. For most, the clock shift just adds an hour to the weekend -- but for sufferers of seasonal affective disorder, a syndrome involving recurring bouts of depression during fall and winter months, it marks the beginning of a difficult time of year when many forgo an after-work run for a nap, watch television instead of walk the dog, or sleep later in the morning.

30 Oct 2005

Search for genes responsible for anxiety disorders

Increasing the activity of two enzymes better known for their role in oxidative stress metabolism turns normally relaxed mice into "Nervous Nellies," according to research conducted at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and reported in the early online edition of Nature.

30 Oct 2005

Arena Pharmaceuticals issue new patent

Arena Pharmaceuticals has announced that it was issued US patent number 6,953,787, entitled "5-HT2C Receptor Modulators," by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

11 Oct 2005

Blood test to measure hormone prolactin can help determine type of seizure

Using a blood test to measure the level of the hormone prolactin can help determine, in certain clinical settings, whether an epileptic seizure has occurred, according to a guideline developed by the American Academy of Neurology and published in the September 13, 2005 issue of Neurology.

20 Sep 2005

Neurotransmitter orexin influences reward processing - associated with pleasure and reward pathways in the brain

Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered that the recently identified neurotransmitter orexin (also known as hypocretin) influences reward processing by activating neurons in the lateral hypothalamus region of the brain.

28 Aug 2005

SH2-B enhances brain's leptin sensitivity - may lead to clues for treatment of obesity and diabetes

What do laboratory mice at the University of Michigan Medical School have in common with millions of overweight Americans? Like many of us, these mice just can't stop eating.

18 Aug 2005