The development of effective preventive and therapeutic measures to control eating and body weight involves basic physiology as well as cognitive and social psychology. The potential of molecular genetics to illuminate brain-behavior relationships became apparent with the discovery of the leptin gene in 1994. At present, molecular methodologies are being integrated with other physiological approaches, resulting in a number of options from which effective therapeutic strategies may evolve. This book highlights this exciting juncture: Fifteen leading experts present brief descriptions of some of the latest developments of the physiology of eating and weight regulation, ranging from endocrine and neural controls to genetics and functional brain imaging. These Frontier chapters are preceded by a general overview that provides requisite background on the physiology of eating as well as a conceptual framework for the Frontier chapters.
