Control of Food Intake Flashcards
What enables food to be stored in the stomach?
The autonomic nervous system enables involuntary food storage in the stomach
What is the role of the ANS?
ANS controls bodily functions unconsciously
e.g. breathing, heartbeat and digestive processes
What is satiety?
When food is present in the gut - full sensation
What is stomach emptying?
Elicits hunger
What controls gut motility and accommodation?
There are factors present in the gut that are important in the control of gut accommodation and motility / emptying ∴ energy fluxes
What is the role of ghrelin?
Secreted by fundus
Increases sense of hunger stimulating gastric emptying
- stimulates NPY and AgRP
What is the role of PYY?
Opposes ghrelin
signals satiety, inhibits gut motility / emptying
What is the role of amylin?
Helps reduce food intake through medulla of brain stem by delaying gastric emptying
What is an enterogastrone?
Hormones secreted by duodenum mucosa in response to dietary lipids
- inhibit aboral motion of chyme
Name some enterogastrones
CCK (cholecystokinin)
GIP (gastric inhibitory peptide)
secretin
What regulates gastric relaxation?
The relaxation of the gastric reservoir is regulated mainly by reflexes
How is gastric reservoir relaxed?
Inhibitory vagal fibres release ACh Activating inhibitory anteric pathways that release: - NO - VIP - PACAP - and/or ATP
in order to relax muscle
What are the 3 types of relaxation that occur in the gastric reservoir (stomach)?
- Receptive relaxation
- Adaptive relaxation
- Feedback relaxation
What stimulates receptive relaxation?
Mechanical stimulation of pharynx via mechanoceptors / sight
What causes adaptive relaxation?
Vagal innervation via NO / VIP
What stimulates feedback relaxation?
Nutrients and enterogastrones (CCK)
What regulates the relaxation mechanisms of the stomach?
The receptive, adaptive and feedback relaxation of the stomach are mediated by NANC mechanisms (e.g. NO / VIP, PACAP etc.) and by reflex chains including the release of NA
What is PACAP?
pituitary adenylate cyclase - activating peptide
Where is PACAP found in the body?
isolated from the pituitary -> stimulates AC in anterior pituitary
High levels in the brain and gut
- myenteric and submucosal ganglia
What is the function of PACAP?
Mediates neuronal regulation of gastric acid secretion and intestinal motility
Stimulates relaxation of colonic smooth muscle
Stimulates pancreatic secretions; insulin + glucagon
What is a vagotomy?
Surgical procedure involving the removal of part of the vagus nerve
What is the effect of a vagotomy?
Vagotomy impairs:
- accommodation
- gastric compliance
- emptying
can be a cause of early satiety in some patients
What causes gastroparesis?
Prior gastric surgery
Non motor factors may also be involved as symptoms don’t always correlate with delays in gastric emptying
What is gastroparesis?
Delayed gastric emptying
What is gastric compliance?
Accommodation and perception of gastric distension
What effect will a vagotomy have on gastric compliance?
Denervation will have little to no effect; Peripheral signals from adrenals
The pancreas, adipose tissue, GIT and CNS will continue to operate to control food intake and energy expenditure
What is hunger?
Discomfort caused by a lack of food and desire to eat
A strong physical craving for food / sensation of emptiness in the stomach
What is appetite?
A psychological desire / drive to satisfy body’s need for food (hunger stimulated response)
- can have an appetite and not be hungry (+ vice versa)
- due to stress or illness
What is satiety?
State of being full after eating food
What is Aphagia?
The inability / refusal to swallow
How do hunger and satiety work together?
Hunger and satiety are cues that tell you when to stop and start eating
Satiety signals prolong the interval until hunger or the onset of the next meal
What is hunger and satiety dependent upon?
Hypothalamic control and BMI (70% due to genes)
What is BMI?
Body mass index
each individual has a genetically determined weight + height set point
What regulates weight and BMI?
Body weight and BMI are tightly regulated by an energy homeostatic mechanism
What influences appetite?
- family gatherings
- food palatability
- emotional
- habitual
- circadian rhythms
What role does the hypothalamus play in control of food intake?
Hypothalamus is the control centre of food intake and appetite
-> controls hunger and thirst
What enables the hypothalamus to carry out its functions?
The hypothalamus base contains several nuclei that regulate energy homeostasis
-> control appetite; size of helping + ingestive behaviour
Describe the features of the prefrontal cortex that aid its role in controlling food intake
- ‘food seeking’
- Integrates sensory info from inside and outside body
- receives emotional + cognitive info from limbic system
- intimately related to cortical areas involved in motor
planning and execution - translates all homeostatic + environmental info into
adaptive behavioural responses
What is the limbic system?
Complex system of nerves and networks in the brain
Where is the prefrontal cortex found?
Covers front part of frontal lobe in the brain
What is the role of the limbic system?
- areas concerned with instinct and mood
- controls emotions, fear, pleasure, anger, also drives
hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring etc.