Why you shouldn’t make decisions on an empty stomach
 

Want to make smarter decisions? Then eat regularly, avoiding surges in blood sugar! The confirmation of this simple rule came from Sweden: based on the results of their recent study, scientists from the Salgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg advise not to make decisions on an empty stomach, because when you are hungry, the hormone ghrelin is produced, which makes your decisions more impulsive. Meanwhile, impulsivity is an important symptom of many neuropsychiatric diseases and behavioral disorders, including eating behavior. Research results published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, to which the portal “Neurotechnology.rf” refers.

The so-called “hunger hormone” ghrelin begins to be produced in the stomach when blood glucose drops to a critical value (and such changes in sugar levels are promoted, in particular, by the abuse of sugar and other refined carbohydrates and neglect of healthy snacks). Swedish scientists in an experiment on rats (read more about it below) for the first time were able to show that the more ghrelin in the blood, the more impulsive your choice becomes. Impulsive choice is the inability to refuse to satisfy a momentary desire, even if it is objectively not beneficial or harmful. A person who chooses to gratify their desires immediately, although waiting will benefit them more, is characterized as more impulsive, which implies a low ability to make rational decisions.

“Our results showed that even a small restrictive effect of ghrelin on the ventral tegmental area – the part of the brain that is a key component of the reward system – was enough to make rats more impulsive. The main thing is that when we stopped injecting the hormone, the “thoughtfulness” of the decisions returned to the rats, “says Karolina Skibiska, the main author of the work.

Impulsivity is a hallmark of many neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), autism spectrum disorders, drug addiction and eating disorders. The study showed that the rise in ghrelin levels caused long-term changes in genes that metabolize the “joy hormone” dopamine and its associated enzymes, which are characteristic of ADHD and OCD.

 

 

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How exactly did the scientists at the Salgrenska Academy determine that high levels of ghrelin knock rats out of their original goal of getting more value and reward? Scientists stimulated rats with sugar when they performed a certain action correctly. For example, they pressed the lever when the “forward” signal sounded, or did not press it if the “stop” signal appeared. In their choice, they were “helped” by signals in the form of a flash of light or some sound, which made it clear what actions they must perform at the moment in order to receive their reward.

Pressing the lever when the forbidden signal was on was considered a sign of impulsivity. The researchers found that rats given intracerebral doses of ghrelin, which mimicked stomach urges for food, were more likely to press the lever without waiting for a permissive signal, despite the fact that this caused them to lose the reward.

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