ReviewThe lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology2020
Central nervous pathways of insulin action in the control of metabolism and food intake.
Review in The lancet. Diabetes & endocrinology, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 136 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
136 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 215 citations in OpenAlex.
- Glucose homeostasis and cognitive functions in schizophrenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Scientific reports · 2025Pooled it
- Relationships Between Brain Glucose Metabolism Patterns and Impaired Glycemic Status: A Systematic Review of FDG-PET Studies With a Focus on Alzheimer's Disease.Human brain mapping · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors citalopram and escitalopram on glucolipid metabolism: a systematic review.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2025Pooled it
- Brain More Resistant to Energy Restriction Than Body: A Systematic Review.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2021Pooled it
- Association between metformin and neurodegenerative diseases of observational studies: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2020 · on this mapPooled it
- Appetite Perception and Cerebral Blood Flow in Aging Adults Following a Single Bout of Exercise.Nutrients · 2026Trial
- Impact of resistance training intensity on body composition and nutritional intake among college women with overweight and obesity: a cluster randomized controlled trial.Frontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Two weeks of exercise alters neuronal extracellular vesicle insulin signaling proteins and pro-BDNF in older adults with prediabetes.Aging cell · 2025Trial
- Effects of Peripheral Neural Blocks in Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy: a Pilot Study on Cognitive Functions in Severe Obese Patients.Obesity surgery · 2023Trial
- Insulin sensitivity in mesolimbic pathways predicts and improves with weight loss in older dieters.eLife · 2022Trial
- Exercise restores brain insulin sensitivity in sedentary adults who are overweight and obese.JCI insight · 2022Trial
- Sex differences in central insulin action: Effect of intranasal insulin on neural food cue reactivity in adults with normal weight and overweight.International journal of obesity (2005) · 2022Trial
- Combination therapy with exenatide decreases the dapagliflozin-induced changes in brain responses to anticipation and consumption of palatable food in patients with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2022Trial
- Effects of Dapagliflozin and Combination Therapy With Exenatide on Food-Cue Induced Brain Activation in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism · 2022Trial
- Empagliflozin Improves Insulin Sensitivity of the Hypothalamus in Humans With Prediabetes: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Phase 2 Trial.Diabetes care · 2022Trial
- Acute inorganic nitrate intake increases regional insulin action in the brain: Results of a double-blind, randomized, controlled cross-over trial with abdominally obese men.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2022Trial
- Beyond Deterministic Fetal Programming: Intrauterine Exposures and the Multifactorial Origins of Adiposity.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2026Review
- Unhealthy fat distribution as a sex-specific predictor of declining hippocampus insulin sensitivity.Diabetologia · 2026Article
- Insulin resistance in the 21st century: new takes on an old problem-2025 Diabetes, Diabetes Care, and Diabetologia Expert Forum.Diabetologia · 2026Review
- Biliverdin reductase A deficiency reveals sex- and brain region-specific vulnerability to high-fat diet feeding.Redox biology · 2026Article
76 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Insulin acts on the CNS to modulate behaviour and systemic metabolism. Disturbances in brain insulin action represent a possible link between metabolic and cognitive health. Current findings from human research suggest that boosting central insulin action in the brain modulates peripheral metabolism, enhancing whole-body insulin sensitivity and suppressing endogenous glucose production. Moreover, central insulin action curbs food intake by reducing the salience of highly palatable food cues and increasing cognitive control. Animal models show that the mesocorticolimbic circuitry is finely tuned in response to insulin, driven mainly by the dopamine system. These mechanisms are impaired in people with obesity, which might increase their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and associated diseases. Overall, current findings highlight the role of insulin action in the brain and its consequences on peripheral metabolism and cognition. Hence, improving central insulin action could represent a therapeutic option for people at an increased risk of developing metabolic and cognitive diseases.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.