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Chemical reactions in your brain signal that it’s time to stop eating
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New research sheds light on how this works
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Scientists hope the discovery could lead to new treatments for obesity
SATURDAY, April 25, 2026 (NewsDay News) – When your stomach is full, your brain tells you to “stop eating.”
But how this signal works is more complex than scientists understood — and they hope their discovery of an unexpected source could lead to new treatments for eating disorders and obesity.
“This research changes the way we think about these communication circuits,” said the researcher Ricardo Aranedaprofessor of biology at the University of Maryland.
He is part of a team that recently published their findings Collections of the National Academy.
Scientists have long thought that the brain knows when it’s time to remove the plate almost entirely because of signaling cells. neurons.
New research shows that it is much more complex than that involving other types of brain cells.
“We were surprised by its complexity,” Araneda said in a news release. “Simply put, we found that tanycytes ‘talk’ to astrocytes, and then astrocytes ‘talk’ to neurons.”
Tanycytes are specialized brain cells that monitor the body’s sugar, called glucose, as it moves through the fluids that cushion the brain and spinal cord.
After eating, the glucose level rises. And this release causes the tanycytes to release lactate into nearby brain tissue. Researchers thought that lactate directly signals neurons involved in appetite control.
“But we found that there was an unexpected mediator in this conversation, astrocytes,” Araneda said.
Among the most common types of brain cells, astrocytes have long been seen as supporting cells for neurons. New research suggests they play a more direct role.
This is because astrocytes detect lactate. In turn, this triggers the release of a chemical messenger that signals neurons to suppress appetite. Simply put, this mobile connection is what you are fed up with.
Araneda thinks it could be a promising way to treat appetite-related conditions.
However, this is a bit of a relief.
This study was conducted in animal models, and results from animal studies often differ from those in humans.
But there is reason for hope. The researchers say that tanycytes and astrocytes are present in all mammals, a mechanism that may work in humans.
Next step: Determine whether changing the receptor that allows astrocytes to detect lactate affects feeding behavior. No existing drug directly targets this pathway.
“We now have another mechanism where we can target astrocytes or specifically this … receptor,” Araneda said. “This would be a new target that could complement existing treatments Olympicsfor example and improving the lives of many people who suffer from obesity and other conditions related to appetite.”
More information
The Cleveland Clinic explains How can you say that you are full?.
Source: University of Maryland, release, April 6, 2026
What does this mean for you?
Understanding how your body signals that it’s time to stop eating could lead to new obesity treatments.
