Hypothalamus News and Research

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

Scientists identify potential target for the treatment of binge eating

A small group of nerve cells located in the hypothalamus could provide a promising therapeutic target for the control of binge eating among obese individuals.

17 Jul 2018

Researchers identify new region in mouse brain that affects appetite and body weight

Researchers at A*STAR's Singapore Bioimaging Consortium have identified a new region of the mouse brain called the Tuberal Nucleus, which affects appetite and body weight

13 Jul 2018

Researchers work to identify areas of the brain that help us wake up

Philosophers have pondered the nature of consciousness for thousands of years. In the 21st century, the debate over how the brain gives rise to our everyday experience continues to puzzle scientists.

22 Jun 2018

Gut microbiome may be potential contributor to depression, anxiety in people with obesity

Like everyone, people with type 2 diabetes and obesity suffer from depression and anxiety, but even more so.

18 Jun 2018

Hunger peptides sent through the brain's fluid cause appetite, shows study

A USC study shows the brain's plumbing system serves double duty, flushing waste and channeling a hunger molecule that tells you when you should eat.

1 Jun 2018

Study identifies neurons involved in control of aggression

Researchers from the Karolinska Insitutet in Sweden have made a new discovery about the biological mechanism underlying aggressive behavior.

28 May 2018

Specific neurons may cause male aggressiveness

Scientists have managed to identify certain neurons in the brain that could evoke sense of aggressiveness. This could mean that problems associated with aggression could not be understood better and perhaps prevented they hope.

28 May 2018

Researchers identify neurons that play key role in aggressive behavior

High activity in a relatively poorly studied group of brain cells can be linked to aggressive behaviour in mice, a new study from Karolinska Institutet in Sweden shows.

25 May 2018

$2.3 million NIH grant to support new project on oxytocin neurons and social behavior

A team of Penn State researchers is planning to create a new map of the brain that will establish a neural circuit diagram of oxytocin, a compound often associated with affection and emotional behavior. Researchers hope the map will give them insight into how oxytocin in the brain drives social behavior.

24 May 2018

Study defines molecular basis to explain connection between mother’s nutrition and infant growth

For years, pregnant mothers have questioned their nutritional habits: "Will eating more cause my baby to be overweight?" Or, "I'm eating for two, so it won't hurt to have an extra serving, right?"

24 May 2018

Early-life obesity linked to children's lower perceptual reasoning and working memory scores

A new study by Brown University epidemiologists found that children on the threshold of obesity or overweight in the first two years of life had lower perceptual reasoning and working memory scores than lean children when tested at ages five and eight. The study also indicated that IQ scores may be lower for higher-weight children.

23 May 2018

Disruption of the body's circadian rhythm linked to increased risk of breast cancer

For years, doctors have associated the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations with an increased risk of breast cancer.

9 May 2018

Surprising discovery offers new model for studying role of gap junctions in the brain

The same kind of neurons can have completely different wiring diagrams in the rat and mouse, as mice lack intercellular molecular channels known as gap junctions, researchers at Karolinska Institutet report in the scientific journal eLIFE.

4 May 2018

Research team uncovers link between circadian clock and aggression center in the brain

Each year around many people worldwide are diagnosed with a form of dementia. Alzheimer's disease is one of them. The disease manifests itself in memory difficulties in particular, but can also result in personality changes and mood swings.

2 May 2018

Study explains why intense exercise curbs appetite

Ever wonder why intense exercise temporarily curbs your appetite? In research described in today's issue of PLOS Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers reveal that the answer is all in your head-;more specifically, your arcuate nucleus.

25 Apr 2018

Stress may induce neurotransmitter switching that contributes to chemical imbalances in the brain

Five years ago, a team of University of California San Diego neurobiologists published surprising findings describing how rats' brain cells adopted new chemical codes when subjected to significant changes in natural light exposure--much as humans suffer from "winter blues," the type of depression known as seasonal affective disorder.

24 Apr 2018

Genome editing identifies neural circuit behind leptin’s anti-obesity and anti-diabetes effects

Revealing surprising answers to a long-standing enigma about the brain target of the anti-obesity hormone leptin, neuroscientists at Tufts University School of Medicine have used CRISPR genome editing to identify a neural circuit in the hypothalamus as the primary mechanism in mediating leptin's anti-obesity and anti-diabetes effects and have identified two distinct mechanisms underlying leptin's inhibition of appetite.

19 Apr 2018

Study proposes new mechanism that may contribute to gender differences in weight control

For years, scientists have observed that when male and female mice eat the same high-fat diet, the males gain significantly more weight than the females.

18 Apr 2018

Study reveals unexpected mechanism that induces thirst after alcohol or sugar exposure

Why does drinking alcohol or consuming sugar make us thirsty? An international study of mice in Texas and humans in Europe reveals an unexpected anti-dehydration mechanism.

12 Apr 2018

Largest-ever study to examine anatomical alterations in the brains of epilepsy patients

An international research consortium used neuroimaging techniques to analyze the brains of more than 3,800 volunteers in different countries. The largest study of its kind ever conducted set out to investigate anatomical similarities and differences in the brains of individuals with different types of epilepsy and to seek markers that could help with prognosis and treatment.

4 Apr 2018