How does the hypothalamus contribute to
the control of food intake? (3)
• The modern view of energy homeostasis now proposes
that discrete neuronal pathways generate integrated
responses to afferent input related to energy storage.
The hypothalamus plays a prominent role in this
integration.
• The hypothalamus is sensitive to adiposity signals
supplied by the hormones leptin and insulin, secreted by
fat cells and the pancrease respectively.
• Insulin and leptin both modulate neural activity in the
arcuate nucleus of the hypothalamus, which transduces
afferent hormonal signals into a neural response.