[Research Press Release] Neuroscience: Weight-loss drug may influence brain signals linked to food cravings (Nature Medicine)

Tirzepatide (also known by the brand name Mounjaro) — a drug used for diabetes and weight management — and was found to suppress brain activity and reduce food cravings in a person with a loss of control eating behaviour for a few months, according to research published in Nature Medicine. The findings represent a first-in-human investigation of tirzepatide’s impact on brain activity, specifically within the nucleus accumbens — a region associated with pleasure, motivation and reward.

The desire to eat, either for pleasure or energy, involves the complex interplay between different areas of the brain. GLP-1 receptor agonists such as tirzepatide promote weight loss, yet their influence on brain networks that control dysregulated eating remains poorly understood. Investigating how these drugs may alter brain activity could help with the development of new potential treatments for distressing eating habits and related food preoccupation as well as eating disorders.

Casey Halpern and colleagues analysed the brain activity, recorded directly with electrodes, of three participants with severe obesity and difficulty controlling their eating habits. They found that episodes of intense food preoccupation and cravings were linked to stronger low-frequency brain signals (called delta-theta activity) in the nucleus accumbens. Therapeutic deep brain stimulation of this area in two of the participants reduced this brain signal and food preoccupation, which preliminarily validated it as a biomarker of food preoccupation and cravings. The third participant was given tirzepatide for diabetes management following bariatric surgery, which also resulted in reductions in food cravings and weight loss. A previously implanted interface recorded a reduction in delta-theta brain activity. However, the brain signals, and subsequent food preoccupation, returned a few months later while they were still receiving doses of tirzepatine. The authors suggest that the effects of tirzepatine on food preoccupation may be associated with the modulation of aberrant activity within the nucleus accumbens.

These preliminary findings provide the first direct measurements of nucleus accumbens activity in a single human research participant receiving tirzepatide and suggest that such drugs may reduce food cravings by affecting brain signal biomarkers associated with eating control. It also highlights the therapeutic potential of these drugs to treat eating disorders, the authors suggest. However, further research is needed to more thoroughly explore the relationship between tirzepatide, food preoccupation, and the brain.

• Brief Communication
• Open access
• Published: 17 November 2025

Choi, W., Nho, YH., Qiu, L. et al. Brain activity associated with breakthrough food preoccupation in an individual on tirzepatide. Nat Med (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-04035-5

© 2025 Springer Nature Limited. All Rights Reserved.   

More Press Releases