Why you don't feel like eating when you smoke

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Life hacker and popular science publication N + 1 talk about the connection between brain neurons, smoking and appetite.

It is not news that those who quit smoking start to eat more, and when they smoke, they want to eat less. Where the main brain center for appetite regulation is located, Localization of a "feeding center" in the hypothalamus of the rat was discovered. back in the middle of the 20th century, in a series of rather tough experiments. The rats were surgically damaged in different areas of the brain and looked to see if the appetite disappeared.

Damage to the lateral region of the hypothalamus (LHA) caused the rats to starve to death, despite the fact that there was enough food. It was also known that patients with tumors in the hypothalamus were constantly hungry, which led to their significant obesity.

Following these pivotal experiments, research into the mechanisms of appetite regulation by the brain revolved (and revolved) around the hypothalamus (at the instinctual level), as well as around the cerebral cortex (the situation where "thoughts about food do not leave").

Nevertheless, the neurons of the hypothalamus, which are responsible for the regulation of hunger, have synaptic connections with the lower regions of the brain (that is, they receive signals from there). One of these areas is Broca's diagonal stripe in the anterior part of the brain.

The researchers tracked that neurons in Broca's diagonal stripe activated in response to food intake. To show that these neurons are really needed to regulate food intake, they were damaged by genetic manipulation. As a result, two weeks later, the experimental mice developed bulimia, and, as a result, they became obese.

On the contrary, if these neurons were activated, then after 48 hours the mice began to eat 25 percent less food compared to the control group. Thus, a signaling pathway in the brain was found responsible for suppressing appetite.

What does nicotine have to do with it, the reader will ask, didn’t the mice smoke? And despite the fact that the activation of neurons in Broca's strip was due to the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. And nicotine is a well-known competitor to acetylcholine. It can bind to acetylcholine receptors and activate them, thereby sending a false signal further to the brain: "It's okay, I'm not hungry." The body gets used to this deception, but when there is less nicotine in the body, then fewer receptors are activated. The brain interprets it like this: "Oh, the body wants to eat, you need to eat, eat a lot."

The good news is that the body has a great ability to self-regulate, and after a while the brutal appetite will go away due to the fact that the brain itself learns to produce more acetylcholine in the right places. Quit smoking - get on your skis!

This is not all that smoking cessation can do. Read also how three months without cigarettes will make you very happy with your life.