Oral GLP-1 drugs may quiet brain’s food craving circuit, mouse study finds
7 reported1 unconfirmed
A study funded by the National Institutes of Health has identified a previously unrecognized way that some newer oral GLP-1 drugs may affect the brain. In mice, the medications reduced hedonic feeding, or eating for enjoyment, by changing activity in a reward circuit located deep inside the brain. Researchers from the University of Virginia studied orforglipron, an FDA-approved oral medication, and the experimental drug danuglipron. The drugs activated the central amygdala, an area involved in desire and reward, and reduced dopamine release during pleasure-driven eating. This newly mapped pathway is separate from the appetite-control systems previously linked to drugs such as semaglutide. Researchers say the finding may offer clues about whether GLP-1 medications could eventually be used to address substance use disorder. The study was published in the journal Nature and supported by multiple NIH institutes.
What’s reported
The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and conducted by a University of Virginia team.
Researchers studied orforglipron (FDA-approved) and danuglipron (experimental) in mice.
The drugs reduced hedonic feeding (eating for pleasure) by activating the central amygdala.
Activation of the central amygdala reduced dopamine release in the brain's reward system.
This pathway is separate from the appetite-control systems linked to semaglutide.
The study was published in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-026-10444-4).
The research was not a clinical trial and has not been assessed by the FDA for product approval.
Open questions
Whether these oral GLP-1 drugs can reduce cravings for substances other than food, including in substance use disorder.
Key figures
Lorenzo Leggio, M.D., Ph.D., Clinical Director of NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Ali Guler, Ph.D., professor of biology at the University of Virginia (co-corresponding author)
Sources: ScienceDaily
