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Originally published in Science Express on 9 August 2007
Science 7 September 2007:
Vol. 317. no. 5843, p. 1355
DOI: 10.1126/science.1144599
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Leptin Regulates Striatal Regions and Human Eating Behavior

I. Sadaf Farooqi,1* Edward Bullmore,2 Julia Keogh,1 Jonathan Gillard,3 Stephen O'Rahilly,1 Paul C. Fletcher2*

Studies of the fat-derived hormone leptin have provided key insights into the molecular and neural components of feeding behavior and body weight regulation. An important challenge lies in understanding how the rewarding properties of food interact with, and can override, physiological satiety signals and promote overeating. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure brain responses in two human patients with congenital leptin deficiency who were shown images of food before and after 7 days of leptin replacement therapy. Leptin was found to modulate neural activation in key striatal regions, suggesting that the hormone acts on neural circuits governing food intake to diminish the perception of food reward while enhancing the response to satiety signals generated during food consumption.

1 University Department of Medicine and Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.
2 Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.
3 Department of Radiology, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK.

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: isf20{at}cam.ac.uk (I.S.F.) or pcf22{at}cam.ac.uk (P.C.F.)

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E-Letters:

Read all E-Letters

Leptin Regulates Human Eating Behavior?
Rudolf Uher, et al.
Science Online, 16 Nov 2007 [Full text]
Response to R. Uher and I. C. Campbell
Sadaf Farooqi, et al.
Science Online, 16 Nov 2007 [Full text]

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