Central nervous system control of food intake

New information regarding neuronal circuits that control food intake and th eir hormonal regulation has extended our understanding of energy homeostasi s, the process whereby energy intake is matched to energy expenditure over time. The profound obesity that results in rodents (and in the rare human c ase as well) from mutation of key signalling molecules involved in this reg ulatory system highlights its Importance to human health, Although each new signalling pathway discovered in the hypothalamus is a potential target fo r drug development in the treatment of obesity the growing number of such s ignalling molecules indicates that food intake is controlled by a highly co mplex process. Se better understand how energy homeostasis can be achieved, we describe a model that delineates the roles of individual hormonal and n europeptide signalling pathways in the control of food Intake and the means by which obesity can arise from Inherited or acquired defects in their fun ction.