In the 1999 study, Liu was able to show that obese individuals had a slower and weakened hypothalamic response to a glucose load, but was not able to tie the response to insulin levels in the body. Although the exact role in regulating food ingestion remains to be established in humans, the temporal information helps us to understand how the brain generates a signal of satiety. Liu Y, et al. Altered hypothalamic function in response to glucose ingestion in obese humans. Matsuda M, et al.
New scans show key brain operations.
Functional MRI Laboratory, University of Michigan. Temporal maxima in fMRI response. Liu Y, et al. 6th International Conference on Functional Mapping of the Human Brain, June 11-16. Dopamine, leptin and hyperphagia.