RESEARCHERS monitoring the brain activity of a patient with a severe binge-eating problem reported that Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 weight-loss drug appeared to temporarily suppress food-craving signals in the “reward center” of the brain.

These are the first direct measurements of brain activity in a person receiving tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro for diabetes and Zepbound for weight loss, shedding light on the treatment’s impact on so-called food noise.

The report, published on Monday in Nature Medicine, describes the effect of tirzepatide on a single individual, and the findings cannot be generalized to others, the researchers cautioned. But it may suggest a role for future versions of Mounjaro or other GLP-1 drugs in treating certain eating disorders, they said.

“Hopefully this report inspires some rigorous investigation of that possibility,” said study leader Dr. Casey Halpern of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

The study followed four patients participating in the first human trial of deep-brain stimulation for treating loss-of-control eating disorders such as binge-eating and bulimia.

The plan was to monitor activity in the brain’s reward center, or nucleus accumbens, and use a surgically implanted device to send electrical impulses to block signals that “ramp up” before binge-eating episodes, Mr. Halpern said.

One patient’s doctor had prescribed tirzepatide before the electrodes were implanted to treat her type 2 diabetes and obesity. During the first few months of electrode monitoring, she reported no food preoccupation and her nucleus accumbens food-craving signals were silent.

Study participants not taking tirzepatide showed the typical elevated activity in the nucleus accumbens and frequent episodes of food preoccupation.

The striking quiet in her nucleus accumbens signaling and food preoccupation suggests that tirzepatide was responsible for the temporary quieting of food noise in this patient, the researchers said.

“Activity in her nucleus accumbens was so quiet that it almost made us think our system wasn’t working,” Mr. Halpern said.

DRUG IMPACT FADES OVER TIME
Five months later, the researchers saw signs that tirzepatide’s effects on this patient’s behavioral disorder were temporary, and “food noise” was breaking through.

They detected nucleus accumbens activity consistent with binge-eating, and the patient reported episodes of severe food preoccupation.

The reason tirzepatide’s effect on out-of-control eating was only temporary in this case is likely because the drug was designed and optimized for diabetes and weight loss, not for binge-eating disorders, Mr. Halpern surmised.

Current popular weight-loss drugs mimic hormones found in the small intestine and pancreas and are not designed to impact the brain’s reward mechanisms.

To have a lasting effect on severe food preoccupation, GLP-1 drugs would need to be redesigned to impact the nucleus accumbens and optimized for mental health, Mr. Halpern said. — Reuters

AMSTERDAM — Kissing did not begin with star-crossed human lovers but with the primate ancestors of great apes around 20 million years ago, according to a study published on Wednesday.

Researchers from Oxford University and the Florida Institute of Technology wanted to examine when kissing began, given that from an evolutionary standpoint it has no obvious survival benefit, and could spread disease.

Yet humans, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and gorillas all kiss, which strongly suggests the habit was inherited from a shared ancestor. Scientists in the study combined observations of primate behavior with data on evolutionary relationships, to rewind the clock and try and date the first kiss.

“Using these two key pieces of information, we employed a modelling approach that allowed us to simulate different evolutionary scenarios,” said lead author Dr. Matilda Brindle of Oxford’s Department of Biology. Running the model millions of times put that first smooch at 21.5-16.9 million years ago.

The findings were published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior.

The scientists’ unromantic definition of kissing was “non-aggressive, mouth-to-mouth contact that did not involve food transfer.” This included sexual kissing as well as platonic kisses such as those between family members or in friendly greetings. How kissing emerged remains a subject of debate, as does why it persisted.

“Some people suggest sexual kissing is a useful way of assessing mate quality or suitability,” Ms. Brindle said. Alternatively, kissing could be a type of foreplay, increasing sexual arousal and boosting the chance of fertilization.

Platonic pecks are thought to be used to navigate complex social relationships or increase bonding, she said.

The study argued Neanderthals and humans also likely locked lips, given evidence that they interbred and shared an oral microbe — a sign they swapped saliva — long after the two species diverged 450,000-750,000 years ago. — Reuters

PARIS — What might have been Molière’s next play if the 17^th century French playwright had not died after collapsing on stage while performing The Imaginary Invalid? It’s a question French scholars, artists, and an artificial intelligence (AI) firm teamed up to answer.

The result is L’Astrologue ou les Faux Presages (The Astrologer or the False Omens), a comedy that will debut next year in the Palace of Versailles, where Louis XIV, Molière’s patron, held court centuries ago.

“What we thought was, let’s try to recreate a bit of Molière’s creative process using the current state of AI,” said Hugo Caselles-Dupre, a researcher in using AI for artistic creation, who was involved in the project.

A FRENCH ICON
Molière holds iconic status in France, to the extent that French is sometimes referred to as “the language of Molière.” His plays, characterized by satirical wit and social commentary, are widely taught in French high schools and performed in theaters in the French-speaking world.

Despite the patronage of Louis XIV, Molière lived in hardship for many years and died of exhaustion at the age of 51, leaving his devotees to wonder who would have been his next target.

According to the Molière Ex Machina project backed by French artificial intelligence firm Mistral AI, he might have taken aim at astrologers.

“We looked for what kind of play (Molière) might have written. One of the subjects he addressed, but subtly woven into several of his other works, is astrology,” Mickael Bouffard, an art historian and director of the play, said.

The plot centers on Geronte, a gullible bourgeois who falls prey to a fraudulent astrologer scheming to marry off Geronte’s daughter to a deceitful wigmaker, despite her love for another.

The AI model was not left to run loose. The production was tweaked by scholars and researchers who corrected historical inaccuracies and other details.

But the model offered scholars a deeper understanding of Molière’s craft, more than 350 years after his death.

“I have learned things about Molière that I had missed because they’re so scattered throughout his work,” Mr. Bouffard said. — Reuters