I don’t know how much the readers of my site care about the depths of neurobiology, although I wouldn’t be surprised if I had some given how I write or what I write about. In any case, this is somewhat technical article where I want to look at what are called the homeostatic and non-homeostatic (or hedonic) pathways and how they impact on food intake.
The very simple distinction between the two is that the homeostatic system is involved in regulating food intake based on the body’s actual needs whereas the non-homeostatic/hedonic system is based on environmental factors and the fact that food tastes good. Now let’s look at the complex distinction. First let me start with a couple of definitions.
Regulation
The idea of regulation means that, well, a system is regulated. Ok, that doesn’t help. What this means is that a system has some way of attempting to keep itself at a fairly consistent level. … Keep Reading