Control of Eating Behaviour: Leptin
Psychology: AQA A Level, topic 13.1.4
Halaas et al (1995)
Halaas et al (1995) investigated the effect on mice missing the gene that influences the production of leptin.
Procedure, results & conclusion
- Procedure
- Laboratory experiment.
- Diabetic mice were injected daily with leptin.
- Results
- After two weeks, the diabetic mice had a 30% decrease in body weight. A follow up with non-diabetic mice reported 12% decrease in body weight.
- Conclusion
- Leptin works as an appetite suppression. Leptin levels in the blood increase with fat levels and send a message to the VMH to stop eating.
Evaluation
- Strengths
- Controlled, reliable experiment.
- Practical applications.
- Limitations
- Cannot generalise from animals to humans.
- Ethics.