Being hungry may improve memory and learning

[Guest guest]

Here is a story describing the effect of ghrelin on the brain. This

may be another benefit of CR and intermittent fasting.

Tony

===

Stomach Hormone Boosts Brain

A hormone produced by the stomach can boost the number of connections

between neurons in a part of the brain involved in forming new

memories, providing new evidence for the close connection between the

brain and the gut.

The recently discovered hormone, ghrelin, is released into the

bloodstream by the stomach when it is empty and travels to the brain,

where it stimulates appetite. But the hormone's function in other

parts of the brain has been unknown.

In new experiments, Tamas Horvath of Yale Medical School and

colleagues found that mice genetically engineered to lack the gene

necessary to produce ghrelin have 25 percent fewer connections in a

part of the brain known as the hippocampus, which is involved in

forming new memories.

When normal mice are injected with extra ghrelin, they form extra

connections in that part of the brain. Moreover, tests show that the

animals have enhanced ability to learn and remember, the researchers

reported in a paper published online yesterday by the journal Nature

Neuroscience.

More research is needed to explore why the hormone has that effect,

the researchers said. The findings suggest the hormone might be useful

for treating learning and memory problems, such as those caused by

aging and brain ailments such as Alzheimer's disease, they said.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901108_\

2.html