title: The anterior medial temporal lobes: Their role in food intake and body weight regulation.
abstract: The anterior medial temporal lobes are one of the most studied parts of the brain. Classically, their two main structures - the amygdalae and the hippocampi - have been linked to key cognitive and affective functions, related in particular to learning and memory. Based on abundant evidence, we will argue for an alternative but complementary point of view: they may also play a major role in food intake and body weight regulation. First, an overview is given of early clinical evidence in this line of thought. Subsequently, empirical evidence is presented on how food intake, including in the extreme case of obesity, may relate to amygdalian and hippocampal functioning. The focus is on the amygdala's role in processing the relevance of food stimuli, cue-induced feeding, and stress-induced eating and on the hippocampus' involvement in the use of interoceptive signals of hunger and satiety, as well as memory and inhibitory processes related to food intake. Additionally, an elaboration takes place on possible reciprocal links between food intake, body weight, and amygdala and hippocampus functioning. Finally, issues that seemed particularly critical for future research in the field are discussed.
authors: The John B. Pierce Laboratory, School of Medicine, Yale University, 290 Congress Avenue, New Haven, CT 06519, USA; Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, 300 George Street, Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Electronic address: geraldine.coppin@unige.ch.
authors: Géraldine
authors: G
authors: Coppin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology*; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Amygdala; Body weight; Food intake; Hippocampus; Learning; Memory