It can be said that the brain, which controls every function in the body by calculating one by one like a biological computer system, is actually a universe scaled to the human body in terms of what we know about it. In short, we can say that what we know about the full capacity and functions of the brain is quite limited.
However, with each scientific research on this subject, the limits of what we know continue to develop a little more. Now, a new study published in Nature Metabolism sheds light on the mystery of which part of the brain controls the urge to eat during pregnancy, known as ‘craving’.
Craving takes place in the brain’s reward circuits and areas responsible for taste, sensory and motor systems
Craving, which pregnant women usually feel during the first 4 months of their pregnancy, keep from ordinary food. and sometimes it can include a lot of things, from food combinations that can be quite bizarre. So how do these cravings start and in what part of the brain do they start?
In tests on pregnant mice, where the research team discovered that they craved during pregnancy just like humans, it was discovered that there were changes in the brain’s reward circuits and brain areas responsible for taste, sensory and motor systems. The team detected higher levels of dopamine and increased activity from the dopamine receptor D2R in an area that is part of the brain’s reward system, within the mesolimbic pathway, which is responsible for providing dopamine hits during pregnancy of female mice and rewarding the brain for its actions.
. — and their change — will be responsible for the cravings, because the food anxiety that is typical during pregnancy went away after they blocked their activities.” uses expressions. Don’t be misled by the fact that this study is specifically about mice. If anything, there’s enough in common between the mouse brain and the human brain for scientists to think that human mothers-to-be go through a similar process.
Eating anything craving may negatively affect baby’s development
However, craving is thought to support embryonic growth in several ways; but the fact that high-calorie foods pregnant women crave have potential negative effects on babies and their mothers poses a problem. Upon this, researchers examining the offspring of pregnant mice that ate whatever they wanted as a result of craving, observed that there were differences in metabolism and neural circuits in the new generation.
Neurobiologist Marc Claret from the University of Barcelona, who stated that the results they obtained were shocking, stated that most of the previous research in this field focused on how the mother’s persistent habits such as obesity, malnutrition or chronic stress affect the health of the baby. “This study shows that brief but repetitive behaviors such as craving are sufficient to increase the psychological and metabolic vulnerability of the offspring.” saves as.
In follow-up tests on rat pups, the researchers said they identified potential problems with weight gain, anxiety and eating disorders in the offspring. Although it is not known for certain whether these data are valid for humans, it can be said that the results of the research do not bode well.
However, the team behind the study hopes that the research can help contribute to nutritional guidelines for expectant mothers and therefore to the health of both mother and baby. Researchers also point out the importance of doing as much scientific research as possible on the underlying causes of pregnancy craving. “Even though there are many myths and popular beliefs about these cravings, the neuronal mechanisms that cause them are not widely known,” says Claret
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