Fatty Diet Leads to Fat-Loving Brain Cells

Most regions of the brain do not make new nerve cells. However, in the median eminence, a small region of the hypothalamus, new nerve cells are made throughout an individual's life span. The hypothalamus is responsible for controlling one's metabolism. Neuroscientist, Seth Blackshaw, and his colleagues reported that in their study, mice who were fed a high-fat diet produced about four times the amount of new nerve cells in the median eminence than compared to the mice who consumed the regular diet. To determine if these new nerve cells were connected to weight gain, Blackshaw and his team used a laser to cease nerve cell production in the median eminence in the mice still consuming the high-fat diet. They reported that these mice began to be more active, and did not gain as much weight as the mice who were eating the high fat diet and able to produce new nerve cells. Both humans and mice have these tanycytes, the cells found in the median eminence, but it is not known how these cells can impact one's metabolism. He states that it is too early to decide if a similar phenomenon occurs in humans.

This article relates to our previous study of the nervous system. The nerve cell is the basic unit of function in the nervous system, they are responsible for transporting signals throughout the brain. With the production of these new nerve cells in the rats combined with the high-fat, it lead them to become less active and gain more weight. As we more recently learned, excess weight gain can cause great disruptions to homeostasis.


Original Article: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/339458/title/Fatty_diet_leads_to_fat-loving_brain_cells
Author: Laura Sanders
Date Published: 5 May 2012