WIKIMEDIA, COSTAPPPRDopamine surges in the brain associated with eating sugary food are diminished in mice after surgery that bypasses their duodenums, according to a paper published today (November 19) in Cell Metabolism. The work provides a possible mechanism to explain the suppression of sweet cravings experienced by many bariatric surgery patients.
“The value of this paper, for me, is that it reveals more mechanistic insights into how the postprandial processing of calories by the gut can serve to activate brain reward systems involved in the formation of new preferences and habits,” said pharmacologist and neurobiologist Paul Kenny of Mount Sinai Hospital in New York who was not involved in the work.
It has long been appreciated that gastric bypass surgeries do more than simply physically limit the amount of food that can be ingested and absorbed by the patient. The procedures can also induce metabolic changes, such as improved glucose tolerance and lipid metabolism, as well as “psychiatric side effects,” such as appetite changes, and even depression and alcoholism, said anatomist and neurobiologist Daniele Piomelli of ...
