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Brain Stimulation for Weight Loss. It seems to work. By stimulating the brain’s reward system, cravings for food could be reduced.
The Reward System and Obesity
Some people have to constantly fight against unhealthy ‘needs’ that the brain produces. Always having to resist those temptations. Wouldn’t it be easier if that cream puff just wasn’t so tempting anymore? I’m not talking about ruining a delicious cream puff, but about changing the brain itself.
In some cases, obesity can be caused by what you might call food addiction. Of course, everyone needs food, but in many cases, the craving for food is greater than the actual physical need. There are cases of obese individuals where the reward systems in the brain work differently than in people with a normal weight. In those cases, eating leads to a greater reward response in the brain, increasing the desire for food.
Similar deviations in the reward system are also seen in people with other addictions such as alcoholism, drug addiction, and gambling addiction.
Brain Stimulation and Endorphins
Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (dTMS) is a treatment method that stimulates neurons in specific parts of the brain using magnetic energy. It is already used in the treatment of depression and addictive behavior. Previous studies have already shown that it can be successful in treating cravings for drugs and food. Italian researchers wanted to learn more about the effects of this method on the appetite and satiety of obese people.
They looked at the effect of brain stimulation with dTMS for 30 minutes in 40 obese patients. They compared the effects of two different frequencies (18Hz and 1Hz). They looked at certain characteristics in the blood that indicate a reward response to food.
The high-frequency dTMS led, among other things, to a significant increase in beta-endorphins. These are neurotransmitters associated with a reward response to food. Endorphins are natural opiates that not only act as painkillers but also create a feeling of happiness. As such, they are part of the reward system and influence much behavior.
Brain Stimulation: Higher Blood Sugar but Less Leptin
Interestingly, high-frequency stimulation led to a decrease in leptin, also known as the ‘satiety hormone’. It is mainly released by fat cells and reaches the brain through the blood. There, it activates the satiety center, reducing the feeling of hunger.
In addition, they saw a significant increase in blood sugar with high-frequency stimulation. Of course, there is a connection between your blood sugar and hunger. Your body has many ways to regulate your blood sugar, but one very important way is, of course, by regulating food intake. Higher blood sugar will therefore lead to a decreased feeling of hunger. Of course, there are circumstances in which an increase in blood sugar can be seen as an undesirable side effect of such treatment.
Finally, a decrease in the hormone TSH was observed. TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) is released by the pituitary gland. It causes the thyroid to produce thyroxine, also known as T
4. One of the effects of T
4 is increased fat burning. For this reason, it is sometimes used by bodybuilders in preparation for a competition (although T
3 is more popular for that purpose).
Obese Brains
As a next step, the researchers want to directly study the effects in the brains. They want to see how high-frequency brain stimulation changes the structure and function of the brains of obese people. In addition to the short-term effects, as in the current study, they also want more insight into the long-term effects. They also want to test the method in a larger group of obese people.
Hopefully, they will also look at the actual effects on eating habits and eventual weight.
Sources
- eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/esoe-bsm051718.php
