Lateral hypothalamic activity indicates hunger and satiety states in humans

• Published in: Annals of clinical and translational neurology Vol. 4; no. 12; pp. 897 - 901
• Main Authors: Talakoub, Omid, Paiva, Raquel R., Milosevic, Matija, Hoexter, Marcelo Q., Franco, Ruth, Alho, Eduardo, Navarro, Jessie, Pereira, José F., Popovic, Milos R., Savage, Cary, Lopes, Antonio C., Alvarenga, Pedro, Damiani, Durval, Teixeira, Manoel J., Miguel, Euripides C., Fonoff, Erich T., Batistuzzo, Marcelo C., Hamani, Clement
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.12.2017; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Brief Communication; Brief Communications; deep brain stimulation; Electrodes; Experiments; Food; Gastrointestinal surgery; Hunger; hypothalamus; Obesity; Physiology; Prader‐Willi syndrome; satiety; Tomography; Obesity; satiety; Prader‐Willi syndrome; deep brain stimulation; hypothalamus; hunger
• ISSN: 2328-9503; 2328-9503
• DOI: 10.1002/acn3.466

Lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded in a Prader–Willi patient undergoing deep brain stimulation (DBS) for obesity. During hunger, exposure to food‐related cues induced an increase in beta/low‐gamma activity. In contrast, recordings during satiety were marked by prominent alpha rhythms. Based on these findings, we have delivered alpha‐frequency DBS prior to and during food intake. Despite reporting an early sensation of fullness, the patient continued to crave food. This suggests that the pattern of activity in LHA may indicate hunger/satiety states in humans but attest to the complexity of conducting neuromodulation studies in obesity.