Oxytocin - a sweet hormone?

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Obesity is an increasing problem in the UK. Obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, but there is no simple solution - the physiological, psychological, genetic and environmental factors that influence what we eat are complex, and different for different individuals, and we need to understand these better. One facet that is poorly understood is what controls the food choices we make - how much fat we eat, for example, and how much sugar. This isn't a simple matter of "taste" - our brains unconsciously monitor and regulate our consumption of particular components and direct future preferences.One important brain mechanisms uses the neuropeptide oxytocin; its release is activated by sugar in the gut, but inhibited by fat. Oxytocin is released from a brain region called the hypothalamus, and it controls diverse aspects of appetite control and food choice.One feature of the hypothalamus is how similar it is across different mammals, and for this reason, studies in mice and rats are powerfully predictive of hypothalamic functions in humans. This project will use laboratory rats to study how the oxytocin system regulates food choice. To do so we will use modern techniques that allow us to control the activity of oxytocin cells, and also that of the cells which are sensitive to oxytocin. This might help to develop new approaches to help people who have developed unhealthy eating habits that predispose them to diabetes, by "boosting" the systems in the brain that normally regulate the intake of specific nutrients, redirecting their food preferences away from sweet, energy-dense food.