Brain Regulation of Feeding and Energy Homeostasis

Abstract

In the past decades, it has become clear that the brain plays a key role in the control of feeding and energy homeostasis. These are complex systems that require the integration of diverse physiological components, from sensing energy demands and storage to behavioral responses, motor function, and reflex adjustments. Studies in different organisms from worms to flies and rodents to humans have identified key molecular pathways, conserved genes, and neural circuits crucial for the understanding of the control of distinct components of energy homeostasis. Among them, the brain plays a fundamental role in food intake (e.g., meal frequency and size), energy expenditure, body weight and body composition, feeding behavior, satiety, reward or hedonic consumption, and glucose homeostasis. Although the brain function in metabolic control has been explored for almost a century, the discovery of leptin and its cognate receptor in the mid-1990s and advances in molecular and genetic tools propelled the field toward an unprecedented development. In this chapter, we will highlight the main findings in recent years using these scientific tools with emphasis on the brain pathways and circuitry associated with the control of the metabolic function.