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Neurobiology of Obesity

Meaning

The Neurobiology of Obesity is the scientific discipline dedicated to unraveling the complex, bidirectional interactions between the central nervous system and peripheral metabolic and hormonal signals that regulate energy balance and body weight. This field investigates how the brain, primarily the hypothalamus and reward circuitry, processes signals of hunger and satiety from the gastrointestinal tract and adipose tissue. Understanding these neural circuits is essential because dysregulation in this system underlies the pathology of clinical obesity.