Why your body craves salt when it's low
Aldosterone-Sensing Neurons in the NTS Exhibit State-Dependent Pacemaker Activity and Drive Sodium Appetite via Synergy with Angiotensin II Signaling.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
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Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
No biological mechanisms were identified in this study. This may be an epidemiological, observational, or survey-based study that reports associations rather than proposing causal biological pathways.
Systematic Reviews & Meta-Analyses
Max 100Randomized Controlled Trials
Max 90Cohort Studies
Max 72Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional Studies
Max 44Case Reports & Case Series
Max 30Expert Opinion & Narrative Reviews
Max 511 / 72
Evidence Score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Publication
Journal
Neuron
Year
2017
Authors
J. Resch, Henning Fenselau, Joseph c. Madara, Chen Wu, John N. Campbell, A. Lyubetskaya, Brian A. Dawes, Linus T. Tsai, Monica M. Li, Yoav Livneh, Q. Ke, P. Kang, G. Fejes-Tóth, A. Náray-Fejes-Tóth, Joel C Geerling, B. Lowell
Related Content
Claims (8)
Activation of sodium-sensing neurons (NST) by oral sodium intake modulates satiety signaling and reduces appetite.
The same brain cells that sense low salt also have a built-in alarm for angiotensin, a hormone that signals low blood volume—so they respond to both signals together.
Only the salt-sensing brain cells get more active when salt is low—not other nearby cells—and they don’t get the signal from nerves in the gut, meaning they respond directly to hormones in the blood.
It’s not just being thirsty that makes mice eat salt—only when the angiotensin signal is present does turning on salt-craving cells make them lick salt, not when they’re just dehydrated.
Just turning on the salt-craving brain cells doesn't make mice eat salt fast—unless you also trigger the angiotensin signal, then they immediately start licking salt like crazy.