Six morbidly obese people (with a body mass index of over 45) have agreed to take part in a clinical trial that will allow scientists to implant a chip in their brains zapping them when they think about food. reports Men’s Health.
Unhealthy foods, may we add.
The chip, known as a responsive neurostimulation system (RNS), was originally developed to treat people with epilepsy, shocking people to stop the seizure before it begins.
The researchers at Stanford University want to find out if giving people electric shocks could help people who suffer from “loss-of-control eating.” The researchers had previously conducted a similar experiment on mice and now want to see if it will now work on humans as well.
The trial will take place over five years and each participant will have the RNS chip implanted in their brains for 18 months at a time. For the first six months of the trial, the chip will monitor brain patterns in a bid to identify the start of a food binge before turning on the stimulation.
While previous studies have focussed on deep brain stimulation (DBS) to treat obesity, this study is focusing on an area called the nucleus accumbens. This part of the brain is involved in feelings of reward and addiction, also known as the brain’s pleasure centre.
According to the scientists, the challenge will be separating the brain’s response to fatty foods from its response to healthy foods. But with so many factors influencing the impact of fatty foods – calories, sugar, fat, quantity etc., – this is far easier said than done.
Story source: Men’s Health
