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Interaction of olfaction and feeding behavior and its neural mechanism

ZHOU Jian-Hong, CHEN Yan-Mei^*

Department of Basic Medicine, Medical School, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming, 650500, China

Abstract

Olfaction and food intake are interrelated and regulated. In the process of feeding, the metabolic signals in the body and the feeding signals produced by food stimulation are first sensed by the arcuate nucleus of hypothalamus and the nucleus tractus solitarius of brain stem, and then these neurons project to the paraventricular nucleus of hypothalamus. The paraventricular nucleus transmits the signals to other brain regions related to feeding and regulates feeding behavior. In this process, olfactory signals can be transmitted to hypothalamus through olfactory bulb and olfactory cortex to regulate feeding behavior. At the same time, gastrointestinal hormones (ghrelin, insulin, leptin, etc.) and some neurotransmitters (acetylcholine, norepinephrine, serotonin, endocannabinoid, etc.) produced in the process of feeding act on the olfactory system to regulate olfactory function, which in turn affects the feeding itself. This review summaries the research progress of the interaction between olfaction and food intake and its internal mechanism from the aspects of neuronal and hormonal regulation.

Key words: olfaction; food intake; hormone; neuroregulation

Received: 　　Accepted:

Corresponding author: 陈艳梅　　E-mail: chym@kust.edu.cn

DOI: 10.13294/j.aps.2022.0021

Citing This Article：

ZHOU Jian-Hong, CHEN Yan-Mei. Interaction of olfaction and feeding behavior and its neural mechanism. Acta Physiol Sin 2022; 74 (2): 276-282 (in Chinese with English abstract).