Hypothalamic Neuropeptide Y and the Regulation of Eating Behavior and Body Weight

Neural control of feeding

Substantial progress has been made in identifying the possible signals for initiating and terminating the appetitive aspects of feeding behavior in vertebrates. Strong evidence now implicates ATP (or an ATP-like molecule) and a fall in glucose in initiating feeding. In invertebrates, particular progress has been made in defining the nature and mechanisms of action of the neurotransmitters and peptide co-transmitters that regulate the consummatory aspects of feeding, and a number of new research tools for modelling the operation of simple feeding motor program networks have been developed.