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Introduction to Papers Presented at: The Twenty Fifth Anniversary Symposium of the Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior
Appetite, 1997, 29, 111–113
Introduction to Papers Presented at: The Twenty Fifth Anniversary Symposium of the Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior
HARRY R. KISSILEFF Departments of Medicine & Psychiatry, Columbia University, and The New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital, New York, U.S.A.
The Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior is one of 76 Columbia seminars, which have as their primary mission the synthesis, insight, wisdom and understanding of the phenomena to which they are devoted. The seminar was started in 1972 to integrate the basic sciences of psychology, physiology and biology with clinical medicine and industry for understanding the controls of appetite. Its founders, Ted Van Itallie and the late Stanley Schachter, invited David Quartermain to join them, and they first met on March 9, 1972. A quarter of a century later the seminar is still going strong, and to celebrate the occasion, on March 6, 1997, the current Chairman, Harry R. Kissileff, invited seven long-standing seminar associates to review progress in their fields of expertise. The idea was to cover major areas of appetitive behavior research and to emphasize progress made in the past 25 years. The only other suggestion guiding the speakers was that they briefly describe five to seven of the most important advances. They were warned that a publication would be expected. The publication would serve not only as a bench mark of what the field of appetite research had accomplished in the last quarter of the 20th century, but as an introduction to the field for students. The areas selected for advances in control of appetitive behavior were: genetics (Hirsch, 1997), neurocircuitry (Hoebel, 1997), ecology (Collier & Johnson, 1997), metabolism (Campfield, 1997), pathology (Stunkard, 1997) and learning (Sclafani, 1997). Dr G. P. Smith (1997) was invited to give the traditional after dinner talk, for which the symposium has been known since its inception. His topic, ‘‘Eating and the American Zeitgeist’’ was more wide ranging in both period (he began at the turn of the century) and scientific scope (from molecules to man). It captured not only the scholarly and scientific aspects of the field, but touched the human side as well. Correspondence should be addressed to: Harry R. Kissileff, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital, 1111 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10025, U.S.A. The Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior is partially supported by HoffmannLaRoche, Inc., McNeil Specialty Co., Miles Inc./Bayer AG and the New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital (NIH DK26687). 0195–6663/97/100111+03 $25.00/0/ap970130
1997 Academic Press Limited
112
H. R. KISSILEFF
Among the many advances reviewed, the following (ordered from micro to macro) appear to be the most outstanding: A gene has been discovered that codes for a protein (ob or leptin) which was shown to be present in fat cells and which reduces food intake [see papers by Campfield (1997) and Hirsch (1997)]. Metabolic signals such as a transient decline in plasma glucose, can signal the start of a meal, and fatty acid oxidation in the liver helps to terminate or inhibit eating (Campfield, 1997). Several neurotransmitters, including serotonin and neuropeptide Y have been shown to be powerful controllers of appetite in addition to norepinephrine, which was the first major neurotransmitter found to control food intake. Peptides released in the gut and neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and galanin, released in the brain, when food is consumed, play a major role in providing satisfaction from eating in part by activating the mesolimbic dopamine system that reinforces eating behavior (Hoebel, 1997). Preferences as well as aversions for foods can be formed by association of the food’s sensory properties with their postingestive consequences (Sclafani, 1997). Careful clinical delineation of eating disorders has led to clear-cut diagnoses and rational therapy for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy and medications have been shown to be effective treatments for these disorders (Stunkard, 1997). In animals, and humans as well, powerful effects on the pattern of food consumption are imposed by ecological variables, such as the costs of, and benefits from, obtaining food (Collier & Johnson, 1997). The Columbia Seminar on Appetitive Behavior provided a forum for discussion when many of these discoveries were in their infancy. By giving investigators an opportunity to receive critical evaluation of their work by their peers, the seminar fostered scientific partnerships and the integration of disparate phenomena into a more unified pattern. The individual eater is thus seen not only as a collection of biological components, but as part of a larger social and ecological system which, in turn, through the individual’s genetic endowment, determines the reactions that will occur to a specific environmental stimulus such as a food item in a particular context. It is therefore regrettable that the social psychology of appetitive behavior, the area which Stanley Schachter had pioneered, was under-represented in these presentations. However, the reality is that emphasis over the past 25 years has become more molecular. The work reported by Collier and Johnson (1997), Stunkard (1997) and Sclafani (1997) provides a balance to a trend towards research involving cells and molecules. One challenge for the future is to integrate the cognitive and social controls of appetitive behavior with the molecular. A critical question for the future is how do perceptions of the presence of other eaters and of costs and rewards influence the nervous system and metabolic pathways to change behavior? Can the effects described by Collier and Johnson (1997) and Sclafani (1997) be attributed to mechanisms described by Campfield (1997). Ultimately, will molecular and neural approaches described by Hoebel and Campfield be able to solve the clinical problems described by Stunkard (1997)? Perhaps, when the gene products controlling appetitive behavior are isolated and their mechanisms of action known, it will be possible to develop treatments without side effects for disorders of appetite and body weight. The Columbia Seminar has played a pivotal role not only in stimulating scientific interchange, but also in developing scientific colleagueships which in turn have strengthened science. It was at a Columbia Seminar in November of 1985 that Harry Kissileff and Suzanne Sunday decided that the time was ripe for the formation of a
ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM
113
professional society to replace the informal ‘‘Chemical Senses and Intake’’ group meeting that had convened at the Eastern Psychological Association meetings every year since the seminar’s inception. In 1986 an organizational meeting was held and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior was incorporated on March 30, 1987. Many of its charter members, and six of its thirteen directors, were members or associate members of the Columbia Seminar. If the present trends continue, the future will see an ever widening circle of scientific colleagueships as ingestive behavior embraces a host of scientific studies involving a multiplicity of concepts, approaches, and techniques, not only locally but globally as well.
R Campfield, L. A. (1997). Metabolic and hormonal controls of food intake: Highlights of the last 25 years—1972–1997. Appetite, 29(2), 135–152. Collier, G. & Johnson, D. (1997). Who is in Charge? Animal vs. Experimenter Control. Appetite, 29(2), 159–180. Hirsch, J. (1997). The Coming of Genetics in the Control of Ingestion. Appetite, 29(2), 115–117. Hoebel, B. G. (1997). Neuroscience and Appetitive Behavior Research: 25 Years. Appetite, 29(2), 119–133. Sclafani, A. (1997). Learned Controls of Ingestive Behavior. Appetite, 29(2), 153–158. Smith, G. P. (1997). Eating and the American Zeitgeist. Appetite, 29(2), 191–200. Stunkard, A (1997). Eating Disorders: The Last 25 Years. Appetite, 29(2), 181–190.
Introduction to Papers Presented at: The Twenty Fifth Anniversary Symposium of the Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior
HARRY R. KISSILEFF Departments of Medicine & Psychiatry, Columbia University, and The New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital, New York, U.S.A.
The Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior is one of 76 Columbia seminars, which have as their primary mission the synthesis, insight, wisdom and understanding of the phenomena to which they are devoted. The seminar was started in 1972 to integrate the basic sciences of psychology, physiology and biology with clinical medicine and industry for understanding the controls of appetite. Its founders, Ted Van Itallie and the late Stanley Schachter, invited David Quartermain to join them, and they first met on March 9, 1972. A quarter of a century later the seminar is still going strong, and to celebrate the occasion, on March 6, 1997, the current Chairman, Harry R. Kissileff, invited seven long-standing seminar associates to review progress in their fields of expertise. The idea was to cover major areas of appetitive behavior research and to emphasize progress made in the past 25 years. The only other suggestion guiding the speakers was that they briefly describe five to seven of the most important advances. They were warned that a publication would be expected. The publication would serve not only as a bench mark of what the field of appetite research had accomplished in the last quarter of the 20th century, but as an introduction to the field for students. The areas selected for advances in control of appetitive behavior were: genetics (Hirsch, 1997), neurocircuitry (Hoebel, 1997), ecology (Collier & Johnson, 1997), metabolism (Campfield, 1997), pathology (Stunkard, 1997) and learning (Sclafani, 1997). Dr G. P. Smith (1997) was invited to give the traditional after dinner talk, for which the symposium has been known since its inception. His topic, ‘‘Eating and the American Zeitgeist’’ was more wide ranging in both period (he began at the turn of the century) and scientific scope (from molecules to man). It captured not only the scholarly and scientific aspects of the field, but touched the human side as well. Correspondence should be addressed to: Harry R. Kissileff, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital, 1111 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10025, U.S.A. The Columbia University Seminar on Appetitive Behavior is partially supported by HoffmannLaRoche, Inc., McNeil Specialty Co., Miles Inc./Bayer AG and the New York Obesity Research Center, St. Luke’s/Roosevelt Hospital (NIH DK26687). 0195–6663/97/100111+03 $25.00/0/ap970130
1997 Academic Press Limited
112
H. R. KISSILEFF
Among the many advances reviewed, the following (ordered from micro to macro) appear to be the most outstanding: A gene has been discovered that codes for a protein (ob or leptin) which was shown to be present in fat cells and which reduces food intake [see papers by Campfield (1997) and Hirsch (1997)]. Metabolic signals such as a transient decline in plasma glucose, can signal the start of a meal, and fatty acid oxidation in the liver helps to terminate or inhibit eating (Campfield, 1997). Several neurotransmitters, including serotonin and neuropeptide Y have been shown to be powerful controllers of appetite in addition to norepinephrine, which was the first major neurotransmitter found to control food intake. Peptides released in the gut and neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and galanin, released in the brain, when food is consumed, play a major role in providing satisfaction from eating in part by activating the mesolimbic dopamine system that reinforces eating behavior (Hoebel, 1997). Preferences as well as aversions for foods can be formed by association of the food’s sensory properties with their postingestive consequences (Sclafani, 1997). Careful clinical delineation of eating disorders has led to clear-cut diagnoses and rational therapy for anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Cognitive behavioral therapy and medications have been shown to be effective treatments for these disorders (Stunkard, 1997). In animals, and humans as well, powerful effects on the pattern of food consumption are imposed by ecological variables, such as the costs of, and benefits from, obtaining food (Collier & Johnson, 1997). The Columbia Seminar on Appetitive Behavior provided a forum for discussion when many of these discoveries were in their infancy. By giving investigators an opportunity to receive critical evaluation of their work by their peers, the seminar fostered scientific partnerships and the integration of disparate phenomena into a more unified pattern. The individual eater is thus seen not only as a collection of biological components, but as part of a larger social and ecological system which, in turn, through the individual’s genetic endowment, determines the reactions that will occur to a specific environmental stimulus such as a food item in a particular context. It is therefore regrettable that the social psychology of appetitive behavior, the area which Stanley Schachter had pioneered, was under-represented in these presentations. However, the reality is that emphasis over the past 25 years has become more molecular. The work reported by Collier and Johnson (1997), Stunkard (1997) and Sclafani (1997) provides a balance to a trend towards research involving cells and molecules. One challenge for the future is to integrate the cognitive and social controls of appetitive behavior with the molecular. A critical question for the future is how do perceptions of the presence of other eaters and of costs and rewards influence the nervous system and metabolic pathways to change behavior? Can the effects described by Collier and Johnson (1997) and Sclafani (1997) be attributed to mechanisms described by Campfield (1997). Ultimately, will molecular and neural approaches described by Hoebel and Campfield be able to solve the clinical problems described by Stunkard (1997)? Perhaps, when the gene products controlling appetitive behavior are isolated and their mechanisms of action known, it will be possible to develop treatments without side effects for disorders of appetite and body weight. The Columbia Seminar has played a pivotal role not only in stimulating scientific interchange, but also in developing scientific colleagueships which in turn have strengthened science. It was at a Columbia Seminar in November of 1985 that Harry Kissileff and Suzanne Sunday decided that the time was ripe for the formation of a
ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM
113
professional society to replace the informal ‘‘Chemical Senses and Intake’’ group meeting that had convened at the Eastern Psychological Association meetings every year since the seminar’s inception. In 1986 an organizational meeting was held and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior was incorporated on March 30, 1987. Many of its charter members, and six of its thirteen directors, were members or associate members of the Columbia Seminar. If the present trends continue, the future will see an ever widening circle of scientific colleagueships as ingestive behavior embraces a host of scientific studies involving a multiplicity of concepts, approaches, and techniques, not only locally but globally as well.
R Campfield, L. A. (1997). Metabolic and hormonal controls of food intake: Highlights of the last 25 years—1972–1997. Appetite, 29(2), 135–152. Collier, G. & Johnson, D. (1997). Who is in Charge? Animal vs. Experimenter Control. Appetite, 29(2), 159–180. Hirsch, J. (1997). The Coming of Genetics in the Control of Ingestion. Appetite, 29(2), 115–117. Hoebel, B. G. (1997). Neuroscience and Appetitive Behavior Research: 25 Years. Appetite, 29(2), 119–133. Sclafani, A. (1997). Learned Controls of Ingestive Behavior. Appetite, 29(2), 153–158. Smith, G. P. (1997). Eating and the American Zeitgeist. Appetite, 29(2), 191–200. Stunkard, A (1997). Eating Disorders: The Last 25 Years. Appetite, 29(2), 181–190.