Title: Insulin and the Blood-Brain Barrier
VOLUME: 9 ISSUE: 10
Author(s):Stephen C. Woods, Randy J. Seeley, Denis G. Baskin and Michael W. Schwartz
Affiliation:Department of Psychiatry, Box 670559, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45267-0559, USA
Keywords:Insulin, Blood-Brain Barrier, homeostasis
Abstract: Although several possible mechanisms exist by which the pancreatic hormone, insulin, could enter the brain from the blood, most evidence suggests that the majority of it enters primarily by a receptor-mediated transport process. Many factors influence the rate of entry, including fasting and refeeding and several pathological conditions. Within the brain insulin acts on specific receptors to influence a number of behaviors, and especially caloric homeostasis and cognition.
