Question

Describe what happens in your central nervous system when you prepare and eat breakfast. Start with objects in the environment and be specific.

Answer 1

CNS controls eating by homeostatic mechanisms that interact with different cognitive control systems (e.g., memory, reward, attention, etc)

Explanation:

In the brain, eating control is modulated by different systems:

1- Homeostatic control: the hypothalamus plays a key role by controlling both the appetite and food intake

2- Attention: the parietal and visual parietal cortices are involved in sensory perception and integration

3- Emotion and memory: amygdala and hippocampus

4-Cognitive control: the prefrontal cortex (i.e., executive functions)

5-Reward: associated with the functioning of the striatum

In the first place, external signals such as, for example, neurotransmitters and hormones, are received by the hypothalamus that interacts with different systems (reward, emotion, memory) in order to achieve a homeostatic control of eating. Neuronal stimulation (for example, when we view foods), is achieved by the supply of oxygenated hemoglobin.