Ingestive Behavior Research Program

Disorders of ingestive behavior, including obesity and anorexia nervosa (AN) are common, affect women more than men, and are associated with a high morbidity and mortality. The control of food intake is one of the most highly adaptive and regulated biological processes, and the high prevalence of disorders in industrialized societies points towards strong environmental factors. For both obesity and AN, alterations in bidirectional brain gut interactions have been proposed as plausible disease models.
UCLA has a large community of clinical and basic investigators interested in brain gut interactions related to food intake. Research interests include gut peptides, enterochromaffin cells and taste receptors in the gastrointestinal tract, signaling by adiposites, and central control mechanisms of food intake in humans.

Mission: To advance the understanding of the role of the human brain in the regulation of ingestive behavior in health and disease through neuroimaging, and psychophysiological approaches

Disease areas: Obesity, Eating disorders

Key Investigators: L Kilpatrick, L Shapiro Connolly, N Zucker; J Meyer; H Pothoulakis, Y Tache, J Pisegna, J Reeve

Funding: NIDDK, NIMH

Interactions: CURE, UCLA Division of Human Nutrition, UCLA Eating Disorder Program, Duke University Eating Disorder Program (N Zucker)