Oxytocin in the neural control of eating: At the crossroad between homeostatic and non-homeostatic signals.

Oxytocin in the neural control of eating: At the crossroad between homeostatic and non-homeostatic signals. Neuropharmacology. 2020 Apr 04;:108082 Authors: Romano A, Friuli M, Cifani C, Gaetani S Abstract The understanding of the biological substrates regulating feeding behavior is relevant to address the health problems related to food overconsumption. Several studies have expanded the conventional view of the homeostatic regulation of body weight mainly orchestrated by the hypothalamus, to include also the non-homeostatic control of appetite. Such processes include food reward and are mainly coordinated by the activation of the central mesolimbic dopaminergic pathway. The identification of endogenous systems acting as a bridge between homoeostatic and non-homeostatic pathways might represent a significant step toward the development of drugs for the treatment of aberrant eating patterns. Oxytocin is a hypothalamic hormone that is directly secreted into the brain and reaches the blood circulation through the neurohypophysis. Oxytocin regulates a variety of physiologic functions, including eating and metabolism. In the last years both preclinical and clinical studies well characterized oxytocin for its effects in reducing food intake and body weight. In the present review we summarize the role played by oxytocin in the control of both homeostatic and non-homeostatic eating, within cognitive, metabolic and reward mechanisms, to mostly...
Source: Neuropharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Authors: Tags: Neuropharmacology Source Type: research