It turns out that the hypothalamus is the part of the brain which (among many other duties) is involved in hunger and thirst. In particular, the lateral hypothalamic nucleus is the hunger centre, which creates the feeling of hunger. It is always operating. On the other hand, the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus controls the cessation of hunger - i.e. feeling "full". This area only comes into operation to override the hunger centre when you have eaten enough.
Like all good scientific experimentation, poor old rats have been used several times to demonstrate this fact. By damaging the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus in a rat's brain, the rat no longer experiences a signal that it is "full", and because the hunger centre keeps operating, the rat will keep eating until the discomfort (I would call it pain...just check the pictures!) of its massively distended stomach/intestines causes it to stop.
The results are certainly impressive:
And while I was finding these pictures, I came across this too:
2 comments:
hehehe.....I like the massive white one where the scientist (or evil genius) has to hold the skinny one in place!
This is also a naturally occurring symptom in humans. I call it 'Christmas day blight'.
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