Central Oxytocin and Food Intake: Focus on Macronutrient-Driven Reward

Centrally acting oxytocin (OT) is known to terminate food consumption in response to excessive stomach distension, increase in salt loading, and presence of toxins. Hypothalamic-hindbrain OT pathways facilitate these aspects of OT-induced hypophagia. However, recent discoveries have implicated OT in modifications of feeding via reward circuits: OT has been found to differentially affect consumption of individual macronutrients in choice and no-choice paradigms. In this mini-review, we focus on presenting and interpreting evidence that defines OT as a key component of mechanisms that reduce eating for pleasure and shape macronutrient preferences. We also provide remarks on challenges in integrating the knowledge on physiological and pathophysiological states in which both OT activity and macronutrient preferences are affected.

• Publication year

  2015

• Venue

  Frontiers in Endocrinology

• Publication date

  2015-04-28

• Fields of study

  Biology, Medicine, Psychology

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3389/fendo.2015.00065PMID 25972841PMCID 4412129
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

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