Long Term Energy Sensing is the physiological system responsible for monitoring and communicating the overall status of the body’s energy reserves over extended periods, typically weeks to months. This sensing system is primarily mediated by hormones secreted in proportion to stored energy, acting as adiposity signals. The information gathered by this system informs the central nervous system’s determination of the body’s energy set-point, influencing basal metabolic rate and baseline appetite drive. This chronic monitoring is fundamental to the body’s defense against both starvation and excessive weight gain.
Origin
This term is a functional description within metabolic endocrinology, differentiating the slow, continuous monitoring of energy stores from the rapid, meal-to-meal signals. The concept became scientifically concrete with the discovery of leptin, the archetypal long-term energy sensor.
Mechanism
Adipose tissue, serving as the largest energy reserve, releases leptin in direct correlation with the mass of stored triglycerides. Leptin acts on hypothalamic neurons, communicating the long-term sufficiency of energy stores. Similarly, insulin, reflecting pancreatic output and glucose homeostasis, also serves as a long-term signal of nutrient abundance. These hormones act on the central nervous system to modulate the expression of neuropeptides that control appetite and energy expenditure, effectively adjusting the body’s homeostatic balance point in response to chronic changes in energy availability.
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