You probably know the feeling of having a hearty meal at a restaurant, and feeling full and satisfied ...
only to take a peek at the dessert menu and decide the cheesecake looks just irresistible. So why is it that you just absolutely couldn't have another bite, but you somehow make an exception for a sweet treat? Or as Jerry Sienfeld might put it back in the day "Whhaaaat's the deal with dessert?!" Scientists now have a better understanding of the neural origins of this urge thanks to a recent study published in the journal Science . Working with mice, researchers tried to set up a scenario similar to the human experience described above.
They started by offering a standard chow diet to mice who hadn't eaten since the previous day. That "meal" period lasted for 90 minutes, and the mice ate until they couldn't eat any more. Want the latest stories on the science of healthy living? Subscribe to NPR's Health newsletter .
Then it was time for a 30-minute "dessert" period. The first round of the experiment, researchers offered mice more chow for dessert, and the mice ate just a little bit more. The second time around, during the "dessert" period, they offered a high sugar feed to the mice for 30 minutes.
The mice really went for the sugary feed, consuming six times more calories than when they had regular chow for dessert. In the mice, researchers monitored the activity of neurons that are associated with feelings of fullness, called POMC neurons. They're located in a part of the.
