Unlocking the “yo-yo effect”: Brain amplifies hunger signals in synapses when dieting, study flags

28 Mar 2023 — Nerve cells that mediate the feeling of hunger receive stronger signals after dieting which may cause people to eat significantly more and to gain weight more quickly, according to a mouse-model study. This could explain dietary fluctuations, where people rapidly put back on the weight that has been lost. 

The researchers put mice on a diet and assessed how Agouti-related protein (AgRP) expressing neurons in the hypothalamus – known to control the feeling of hunger – sent increased signals when mice were on a diet. Moreover, these changes in the brain could be detected for a long time after the diet had ended.