Scientists at Baylor College of Medicine have identified a new neural circuit that can cause feelings of fullness.

They also found that an already approved drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects the same chain.

As reported by New Atlas, the specified circuit connects two different sets of neurons. One of these kits releases the neurotransmitter dopamine, which is commonly linked to feelings of pleasure and motivation.

While the mice ate, the scientists watched the activity of these two sets of neurons. It turned out that the DA-VTA neurons, which are responsible for the production of dopamine, increased their activity just before the rodents stopped eating. In subsequent experiments, scientists at the gene level inhibited the activity of DA-VTA neurons. As a result, the animals began to overeat heavily.

Similar experiments, centered on the second set of DRD1-LPBN neurons, which receive signals from DA-VTA neurons, showed that increased activity elicited a sustained satiety response — the mice immediately stopped eating. Thus, by acting on these two components of the nervous chain, it is possible to induce a feeling of satiety.