Why salty food stops you from eating more salt
Chemosensory modulation of neural circuits for sodium appetite
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When mice are low on salt, their brain tells them to eat more—but the moment they taste salt, a quick signal shuts off that craving. This happens through a special brain circuit that senses salt on the tongue and tells the 'salt hunger' neurons to calm down.
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 512 / 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.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
When mice are low on salt, their brain tells them to eat more—but the moment they taste salt, a quick signal shuts off that craving. This happens through a special brain circuit that senses salt on the tongue and tells the 'salt hunger' neurons to calm down.
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 512 / 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
Nature
Year
2019
Authors
Sangjun Lee, Vineet Augustine, Yuan Zhao, Haruka Ebisu, Brittany Ho, D. Kong, Yuki Oka
Related Content
Claims (8)
These brain cells only make mice want salt—not water or food—and don’t affect how much they move around.
Mice stop wanting salt almost instantly when they taste it in their mouth—even before the salt gets into their body—and this happens because a specific brain signal turns off when salt is tasted.
When mice taste salt, a different group of brain cells that use a calming chemical (GABA) gets turned on and sends a 'stop' signal to the salt-craving cells, making them quiet down.
When mice are low on salt, a specific group of brain cells makes them desperately want to eat salt—even if it tastes bad—and these cells also make the mice feel bad, so they do things to stop the feeling.
Activation of sodium-sensing neurons (NST) by oral sodium intake modulates satiety signaling and reduces appetite.