Research
Hormonal
Leptin regulates energy homeostasis not only by acting as a satiety signal in the arcuate nucleus but also by modulating synaptic plasticity and reward perception in extrahypothalamic areas like the ventral tegmental area and striatum.
Your brain's reward system plays a huge role in how much you eat. Leptin helps dampen the 'high' you get from food. In obesity, this reward-dampening fails, making food more appealing. Understanding this biological reward drive can help reduce self-blame for cravings.
GoodQualifiesHIGH confidence
It appears that leptin controls feeding not just by providing physiological satiety signal, but also by mediating 'synaptic plasticity' as well as modulating the perception of reward associated with feeding.
Why this rating
Supported by multiple studies cited in the review regarding synaptic plasticity and reward pathways.
Source
Leptin and the Control of Body Weight: A Review of Its Diverse Central Targets, Signaling Mechanisms, and Role in the Pathogenesis of Obesity
Ashwini Oswal et al. · Obesity · 2009
DOI 10.1038/oby.2009.228
narrative_reviewCited 166×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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