OVERVIEW

The Division of Nutrition & the Brain currently encompasses about 12 faculty with broad research interests. The research effort generated by the Division address the basic neural mechanisms involved in how the brain measures nutritional status, regulates feeding behavior, controls digestion and modulates energy consumption. Specific studies address:

• blood-brain barrier regulation of the access of nutritionally relevant signal molecules to the brain
• neural networks underlying the generation and regulation of feeding behavior
• brain melanocortin receptor functions in feeding behavior and energy consumption
• leptin and insulin signaling within the brain
• macronutrient feeding
• brainstem control of digestion
• immune and peripheral hormonal control of the autonomic nervous system
• nutrient signaling mechanisms

The work of this division is applicable to brain-nutritional interactions ranging from obesity and diabetes to the anorexia and cachexia of brain and spinal cord injury, cancer and infection.