Study reveals how prolonged exposure to food orders can suppress appetites

Houston, TX — August 25, 2025 — A new, groundbreaking study recently published in Nature Communications reveals a surprising insight into how our brains respond to food smells.  The study, lead by Texas Children's Duncan NRI and Baylor College of Medicine principal investigator Dr. Yang He and postdoctoral associate Yao Liu, identifies a specific neural circuit that connects the olfactory bulb to the brain's hypothalamus that can suppress appetite in response to prolonged food smells.  

Most of us have experienced the effect of brief whiffs of food while hungry - mouth watering and stomach grumbling.  In other words, we respond to the smell of food with increased appetite, but Dr. He's group shows that sustained food odors result in decreased appetite in mice.  The researchers discovered a subset of neurons in the ventral subiculum (vSub) that are specifically activated by food odors and receive excitatory inputs from the olfactory bulb (OB).  The pathway also involves the ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH), the brain region known for regulating feeding behavior. This is where the food odor-activated neurons send glutamatergic projections completing the OB-vSub-VMH circuit.  

Using advanced optogenetics techniques, the He lab demonstrated that inhibition of the OB-vSub-VMH pathway reversed the appetite suppression effect of prolonged exposure to food odors.  Their findings suggest that olfactory cues play a more complex role in feeding behavior and regulation of food intake than was previously understood.  

According to Dr. He, “Our study shows that food odors don’t just trigger cravings; when they persist, they can actually curb appetite through a defined brain pathway. This discovery may open the door to new approaches for managing obesity and related diseases.”

For more information, read the full article at Nature Communications here

Other authors of this study include Hailan Liu, Huey-Xian Kelly Wong, Niccole Auld, Kristine M. Conde, Yongxiang Li, Meng Yu, Yue Deng, Qingzhuo Liu, Xing Fang, Mengjie Wang, Yuhan Shi, Olivia Z. Ginnard, Yuxue Yang, Longlong Tu, Hesong Liu, Jonathan C. Bean, Junying Han, Megan E. Burt, Sanika V. Jossy, Yongjie Yang, Chunmei Wang, Qingchun Tong, Benjamin R. Arenkiel, Hongjie Li, and Yong Xu (co-corresponding author). 

This work was supported by  grants from the Texas Children's Research Scholar Fund, The American Heart Association, The USDA/CRIS, the NIH, the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, Impetus Grants, the Ted Nash Long Life Foundation and the Welch Foundation.