Chemical Fingerprints of Emotional Body Odor.

Chemical communication is common among animals. In humans, the chemical basis of social communication has remained a black box, despite psychological and neural research showing distinctive physiological, behavioral, and neural consequences of body odors emitted during emotional states like fear and happiness. We used a multidisciplinary approach to examine whether molecular cues could be associated with an emotional state in the emitter.

Effect of flavor on neuronal responses of the hypothalamus and ventral tegmental area.

Although it is well known that food intake is affected by the palatability of food, the actual effect of flavoring on regulation of energy-homeostasis and reward perception by the brain, remains unclear. We investigated the effect of ethyl-butyrate (EB), a common non-caloric food flavoring, on the blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response in the hypothalamus (important in regulating energy homeostasis) and ventral tegmental area (VTA; important in reward processes). The 16 study participants (18-25 years, BMI 20-23 kg/m) drank four study stimuli on separate visits using a crossover design during an fMRI setup in a randomized order.

High Bioavailability from Ferric Pyrophosphate-Fortified Bouillon Cubes in Meals is Not Increased by Sodium Pyrophosphate: a Stable Iron Isotope Study in Young Nigerian Women.

Background: It is challenging to find an iron compound that combines good bioavailability with minimal sensory changes when added to seasonings or condiments. Ferric pyrophosphate (FePP) is currently used to fortify bouillon cubes, but its bioavailability is generally low. Previously, the addition of a stabilizer, sodium pyrophosphate (NaPP), improved iron bioavailability from a bouillon drink.

Dietary sugars and non-caloric sweeteners elicit different homeostatic and hedonic responses in the brain.

Objective: The brain is essential in regulating intake of food and beverages by balancing energy homeostasis, which is regulated by the hypothalamus, with reward perception, which is regulated by the ventral tegmental area (VTA). The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ingestion of glucose, fructose, sucrose, and sucralose (a non-caloric artificial sweetener) on the magnitude and trajectory of the hypothalamic and the VTA blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) responses.

Method: In five visits, 16 healthy men between 18 to 25 y of age with a body mass index between 20 and 23 kg/m drank five interventions in a randomized order while a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan was taken.

Brain activity and connectivity changes in response to glucose ingestion.

The regulatory role of the brain in directing eating behavior becomes increasingly recognized. Although many areas in the brain have been found to respond to food cues, very little data is available after actual caloric intake. The aim of this study was to determine normal whole brain functional responses to ingestion of glucose after an overnight fast.