Abstract
In humans, eating is assumed to be regulated within a neuronal circuitry integrating hypothalamic 'feeding centers' with neocortical regions. Here, DC potentials were recorded in food deprived men to demonstrate a graded tuning of neocortical excitability in conjunction with meal ingestion. In the beginning of food ingestion a pronounced negative DC potential shift developed (P<0.01) which was replaced by a gradual positive potential shift reaching a maximum within 5 min after cessation of food intake (P<0.05). Both negative and positive shifts showed a widespread cortical distribution. The initial negative DC potential presumably reflecting increased depolarisation of apical cortical dendrites, may serve to facilitate eating behavior. The succeeding positivity points to a growing inhibitory influence on cortical processing with increasing satiety that may support termination of meal intake.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Behavioural Brain Research |
| Volume | 119 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Pages (from-to) | 85-92 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 0166-4328 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 15.02.2001 |
Funding
We thank A. Otterbein for technical assistance. This research was supported by a grant from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft to J. Born.
