A hormone secreted by the stomach stimulates the appetite of humans making food more attractive, according to a new study.

  
Researchers at the Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, demonstrated that ghrelin works on specific regions of the brain known to be associated with satisfaction and motivation, the same regions involved in addiction.

Alain Dagher, a neurologist who studied the brain in cases of drug addiction, explained that ghrelin could thus increase the likelihood that a person eats.

According to researchers, the study is crucial for advancing the understanding and treatment of obesity.

As part of the study, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, we showed participants pictures of food and landscapes before and after receiving ghrelin intravenously during a magnetic resonance tomography functional.

When those who had received ghrelin watching images of food tomography showed an activation of brain regions known to be associated with pleasure.

These regions were not activated when they looked at images of landscapes.

Those who received a placebo or were stimulated by images of food, or by the images of landscapes.

In addition, brain regions associated with the vision of participants who received an injection of ghrelin were more active when they looked at pictures of food, suggesting that they equated better visual information. They also retain a memory of these more precise images.

The reactions varied from one individual to another, which stresses the complexity and the challenge to influence eating habits.