Consuming Good Food Triggers the Brain to Release Feel-Good Serotonin

Researchers have uncovered an intriguing connection between the gut and brain: consuming nutritious food triggers the release of the feel-good chemical serotonin. This discovery paves the way for potential new treatments for eating disorders.

Recent studies have highlighted the significant link between the gut and brain. Eating is especially noteworthy as it involves the nervous system responding to environmental cues (such as food aromas) as well as physiological and metabolic signals.

Researchers from the University of Bonn in Germany and the University of Cambridge in the UK recently conducted a study to explore the connection between the esophagus and the brain during eating, specifically focusing on the interactions that occur when food is swallowed.

“Our goal was to gain a detailed understanding of how the digestive system communicates with the brain when food is ingested,” explained Michael Pankratz, the study’s lead author from the Life and Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES) at the University of Bonn. “To achieve this, we needed to identify the neurons involved in this information flow and understand how they are activated.”

Researchers Opt for Fruit Fly Larvae to Study Neuronal Connections, Using Electron Microscopy for Detailed Reconstruction

Instead of analyzing the approximately 100 billion neurons in the human brain, the researchers chose to study fruit fly larvae, which have about 10,000 to 15,000 neurons. They sliced the larvae into thousands of thin sections and used an electron microscope to scan them. These scans were then used to reconstruct all neurons and target organs of a nerve connecting the larvae’s gastrointestinal system to the brain.

“We utilized a high-performance computer to create three-dimensional images from these scans,” Pankratz explained, allowing the team to map the connections between nerve cells, synapse by synapse.

The researchers identified a type of ‘stretch receptor’ in the larvae’s esophagus linked to a cluster of six serotonin-producing neurons in the brain. Serotonin, known for its role in mood regulation and creating feelings of euphoria, revealed intriguing responses from these neurons to consumed food.

“They can identify whether something is food and assess its quality,” explained Andreas Schoofs, the lead author of the study at the LIMES Institute. “Serotonin is only produced in response to high-quality food, which encourages the larva to continue eating.”

Neurons Act as Quality Control for Nutritious Food, Triggering Serotonin Release and Continued Eating

By “good quality food,” the researchers mean food with nutritional value rather than gourmet quality. This suggests that the neurons act as a form of quality control for ingested food.

Nutritious food is perceived by the brain as a reward, leading to serotonin release, which makes the larvae feel good and prompts them to keep eating. Given its crucial role in survival, the researchers believe this mechanism might also be present in humans.

“Despite differences in cell types between flies and mammals, it would be intriguing to investigate whether serotonin also plays a role in monitoring essential actions like swallowing in mammals,” the researchers noted.

If this esophagus-brain connection exists in humans, it could offer a new approach for treating eating disorders such as anorexia or binge eating. However, there is still much research needed.

“We don’t yet fully understand how this control circuit functions in humans,” said Pankratz. “Years of research are still required to explore this area.”

Read the original article on: New Atlas

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