The biological mechanisms behind hunger, appetite, and satiety are mysterious, according to Nilay Yapici, Nancy and Peter Meinig Family Investigator in the Life Sciences and assistant professor of neurobiology and behavior. As shown in the Cornell Research article, "The biology of hunger," she investigates what processes cause us to feel hunger and then tell us when to stop eating: Why are we attracted to particular foods more than others? What are the biological roots of eating disorders like binge eating and anorexia?
For Yapici, the answers lie in our brains. “I’ve always been fascinated by how our brains control our behaviors,” she says in the piece. “I want to understand how genes regulate our brain functions, which then control our behaviors, especially our daily life decisions like eating.”
