IMAGING IN ENDOCRINOLOGY: The use of functional MRI to study the endocrinology of appetite

Abstract

In the present review article, we summarise current thinking about the neuroendocrinology of appetite and feeding behaviour. We discuss how the homeostatic control of energy balance, wherein the hypothalamus orchestrates food intake and energy expenditure in response to peripheral signals about nutritional status, can be easily overridden by the powerful reward value of food. We focus on how functional magnetic resonance imaging has shed light on our understanding of the way hormones can interact with the brain to modulate appetite.