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By Mamta Manhas<\/p>\n
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At first glance the walls of Afonso Abizaid\u2019s office are a riot of abstract blobs and colours, with little to suggest any deeper message. On closer inspection, his choice of office arts proves to be far more meaningful. All of the images are representations of neurons and brains, Abizaid explains, the foundations for all thought and desires and the focus of his scientific passion.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re from the neuroscience art show,\u201d he says about the art. \u201cSome of my students contribute\u2026 I like supporting them.\u201d<\/p>\n The neuroscience professor at Carleton University sits in the newest addition to the school. The health science building is getting its final touches as construction workers roam the halls and the smell of paint is still faint in the air. But looking at Abizaid\u2019s office, it\u2019s safe to say he\u2019s settled in.<\/p>\n Abizaid has been at Carleton for over a decade studying eating patterns and behavioural rhythms of the body. Leaning in with his hand clasped over his desk, he\u2019s eager to talk about his work.<\/p>\n \u201cMy main focus is on how stress effects the brain to regulate how we eat, how much we eat, how fast or slow the metabolism becomes, and ultimately how that can lead to type two diabetes, obesities, cardiovascular disease and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n Abizaid\u2019s work predominately focuses on one hormone, ghrelin. Produced in the stomach, the brain controls the secretion of what is known as the hunger hormone.<\/p>\n He explained throughout the day our bodies have daily patterns or rhythms that re-occur naturally. \u201cRhythms of secretion for ghrelin match with our meal patterns,\u201d he said. \u201cThis hormone goes off just before breakfast, just before lunch and just before dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s also interesting to Abizaid is ghrelin often makes you crave your favourite foods.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you inject me with ghrelin I\u2019ll start craving salvaki and shawarma,\u201d he said with a laugh. While other people might say ice cream or deep dish pizza, its usually high calorie, rich foods that we crave according to Abizaid.<\/p>\n Part of this reaction comes from how eating can improve some people\u2019s mood. \u201cYou get grumpy when you get hungry,\u201d he explained. \u201cThe hormone stimulates appetite for things that make you feel better.\u201d Abizaid wanted to look into why that was and why people craved this food especially while stressed.<\/p>\n Stress eating explained<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Abizaid didn\u2019t intend on becoming a researcher at first. After finishing his undergrad in psychology at Concordia University, he wanted to become a clinical psychologist and began working with youth at risk. However, it wasn\u2019t the path for him. \u201cI realized I was bringing home too much baggage and I wasn\u2019t going to able to deal with [that].\u201d<\/p>\n During his undergrad he became a research assistant where he was exposed to research and experiments. This led him to pursue a masters and a doctorate degree also in psychology, studying body weight regulation and brain mechanisms.<\/p>\n At the end of Abizaid\u2019s doctorate degree, he received a fellowship at Yale. There he began to work with ghrelin, sparking an interest. \u201cI was there for four years working with that hormone before I brought this work to Carleton.\u201d<\/p>\n A breakthrough came early in Abizaid\u2019s time at Carleton when he and his team found ghrelin isn\u2019t just secreted right before your next meal but also during stressful situations.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ask a student to present a topic in front of his peers and you know you get nervous in front of a class, if I would take a blood sample, the student\u2019s ghrelin is higher compared to one of the observers,\u201d he explained.<\/span><\/p>\n Other research teams also confirmed the results. Stressed out individuals also tend to crave palatable foods. With his research, Abizaid saw that chronically stressed animals will eat more and their ghrelin levels are higher than those who are not chronically stressed. Overeating resulted in weight gain and insulin resistance.<\/p>\n Hymie Anisman, professor of neuroscience and one of the main researcher\u2019s on stress at Carleton says there are several reasons why people eat in socially stressful situations. \u201cPeople eat to feel better and they eat yummy foods\u2026 I\u2019m not going to go for a carrot stick,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The results have also been seen in humans according to Abizaid. Social stressors such as conflict, negative and\/or anxious environments are linked to higher rates of food consumption, affect your metabolism in a negative way and raise insulin levels.<\/p>\n \u00a0Finding a solution<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n After this discovery Abizaid began working on a solution to help people better cope in stressful situations.<\/span><\/p>\n Abizaid works with undergraduate and graduate students to facilitate the experiments. His team started to develop a drug that would control the release of ghrelin and reduce its secretion.<\/p>\n Lindsay Thompson-Hyland has worked with Abizaid for five years, first in her undergraduate degree, then graduate degree and now as a research assistant.<\/p>\n She knows too well the hard work it takes for research like this.<\/p>\n \u201cScience itself has its ups and downs but working with Alfie makes it easier,\u201d she said. \u201cObviously I\u2019m a little biased because I\u2019ve been working with him for a long time but he\u2019s super laid back, super understanding, such a father figure.\u201d<\/p>\n Students like Thompson-Hyland do all of the research on mice and rats where the animals are subjected to different scenarios to see how they react to ghrelin suppressors.<\/p>\n The team ran into problems during the testing. They found animals after having their ghrelin suppressed did lose body weight but became more susceptible to depression and anxiety. The mice that were injected with ghrelin did gain weight but were significantly less anxious.<\/p>\n This was shown in a five minute test that looked at the interactions between mice. A mouse that is genetically altered to not produce ghrelin is put in a controlled environment and a stranger mouse is also put in. This is seen as a stressor as it may cause the mouse to be anxious. Then the genetically modified mouse is watched to see its response.<\/p>\n \u201cWe looked at how the stressors affect whether or not they would interact socially with a stranger mouse,\u201d explained Thompson-Hyland.<\/p>\n More anxious mice, usually those that were genetically modified to not produce ghrelin therefore are eating less, will stay on the sides of the box rather than interact with the stranger mouse. When the mice are injected with ghrelin, the mice became more social but gain weight.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a double-edged sword, you may get heavier and develop obesity or you may get stressed,\u201d said Abizaid.<\/p>\n These problems could be blamed on the complexity of eating behaviours.<\/p>\n Zul Merali, the president of institute of mental health research at the Royal Ottawa mental health centre recognizes humans respond to stress by eating however, this is not a universal response. The act of eating is much more complicated according to Merali and in some cases leads to more stress.<\/p>\n He uses the example of birds at a bird feeder that are not relaxed while eating and usually skittish. \u201cThey feel vulnerable as they could get attacked while they are feeding.\u201d The same can be seen in dogs that become aggressive with their food.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s lots of variability with coping with stress,\u201d he explained. “Food activates circuits of pleasure\u2026 it can also activate physical stress circuits. You\u2019re getting two different circuits going and we\u2019re trying to understand [why that is].\u201d<\/p>\n Merali is currently performing brain scans on people to see which circuits are activated when eating.<\/p>\n Next Steps<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Abizaid and his team are trying to come up with the best possible drug that reduces body weight and does not lead to stress and the pathological diseases that come with it like anxiety and depression.<\/p>\n Afterwards, Abizaid hopes to get a sponsor so the drug can be part of a clinical trail. He explains its difficult as drugs must go through stringent testing and funding is always a challenge.<\/p>\n Ultimately, this research is part of Abizaid\u2019s broader goal to help people find a balance in life whether that is through changing their behaviour, using drugs or both.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re trying to understand is what are the things that will get you to that balance faster and prevent disease.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.47″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.47″ background_size=”initial” background_position=”top_left” background_repeat=”repeat”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.89″] Treat Yourself: The reasons behind your stress eating and cravings By Mamta Manhas [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/cusjc.ca\/catalyst\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_7834-1.jpg” _builder_version=”3.0.89″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.0.89″][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.89″] At first glance the walls of Afonso Abizaid\u2019s office are a riot of abstract blobs and colours, with little to suggest any deeper message. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":4060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"project_category":[134],"project_tag":[],"class_list":["post-4046","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project_category-profile"],"yoast_head":"\n