title: Anthony Sclafani: Consummate scientist.
abstract: In this article we review the scientific contributions of Anthony Sclafani, with specific emphasis on his early work on the neural substrate of the ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) hyperphagia-obesity syndrome, and on the development of diet-induced obesity (DIO). Over a period of 20 years Sclafani systematically investigated the neuroanatomical basis of the VMH hyperphagia-obesity syndrome, and ultimately identified a longitudinal oxytocin-containing neural tract contributing to its expression. This tract has since been implicated in mediating the effects of at least two gastrointestinal satiety factors. Sclafani was one of the first investigators to demonstrate DIO in rats as a result of exposure to multiple palatable food items (the "supermarket diet"), and concluded that diet palatability was the primary factor responsible for DIO. Sclafani went on to investigate the potency of specific carbohydrate and fat stimuli for inducing hyperphagia, and in so doing discovered that post-ingestive nutrient effects contribute to the elevated intake of palatable food items. To further investigate this effect, he devised an intragastric infusion system which allowed the introduction of nutrients into the gut paired with the oral intake of flavored solutions, an apparatus her termed the "electronic esophagus". Sclafani coined the term "appetition" to describe the effect of intestinal nutrient sensing on post-ingestive appetite stimulation. Sclafani's productivity in the research areas he chose to investigate has been nothing short of extraordinary, and his studies are characterized by inventive hypothesizing and meticulous experimental design. His results and conclusions, to our knowledge, have never been contradicted.
authors.affiliation: New York Obesity-Nutrition Research Center, Department of Medicine, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA. Electronic address: jrv1@columbia.edu.
authors.forename: Joseph R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Vasselli
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medicine, Payne Whitney Westchester, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, 21 Bloomingdale Road, White Plains, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Gerard P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001066:Appetite; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004435:Eating; D005518:Food Preferences; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D012527:Satiation / Q000502:physiology; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats
keywords: Carbohydrate appetite; Diet-induced obesity; Hyperphagia; Palatability; Taste preference; VMH syndrome