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Metabolism in mind: New insights into the 'gut-brain axis' spur commercial efforts to target it

Nature Medicine volume 22, pages 697–700 (2016)Cite this article

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That the brain influences hunger is not an unexpected finding, but scientists have recently narrowed in on how it has sway on what ends up in the gut—and how the gut talks to the mind. This two-way communication, defined as the 'gut–brain axis', happens not only through nerve connections between the organs, but also through biochemical signals, such as hormones, that circulate in the body.

The idea that there is bidirectional communication between the gastrointestinal tract and brain that affects metabolism traces back more than a century.

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  1. Roxanne Khamsi is chief news editor of Nature Medicine in New York.,

    Roxanne Khamsi

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Khamsi, R. Metabolism in mind: New insights into the 'gut-brain axis' spur commercial efforts to target it. Nat Med 22, 697–700 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nm0716-697

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