Omar Al Massadi, Ruben Nogueiras, Carlos Dieguez, Jean-Antoine Girault,

Ghrelin and food reward,

Neuropharmacology,
Volume 148,
2019,
Pages 131-138,
ISSN 0028-3908,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropharm.2019.01.001.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0028390818306051)
Abstract: Food intake is tightly regulated by homeostatic and reward mechanisms and
the adequate function of both is necessary for the proper maintenance of energy
balance. Ghrelin impacts on these two levels to induce feeding. In this review, we
present the actions of ghrelin in food reward, including their dependence on other
relevant modulators implicated in the motivational aspects of feeding, including
dopamine, opioid peptides, and endocannabinoids. We also describe the interaction
between brain areas involved in homeostatic regulation of feeding and the reward
system, with a special emphasis on the role of arcuate nucleus melanocortins and
lateral hypothalamus orexins in ghrelin function. Finally, we briefly discuss the
actions of ghrelin in food reward in obesity. We propose that new insights into the
mechanism of action of ghrelin in the rewarding and motivational control of food
intake will help to understand food-related disorders including obesity and
anorexia.
Keywords: Ghrelin; Food reward; Dopamine; Endocannabinoids; Opioids; Obesity