A new study suggests that hunger not only affects moods, but also the ability to make decisions and willingness to take risks. Fruit flies typically fly away from places when high levels of carbon dioxide are detected, though the presence or absence of food plays a major role in the decision making process. Hungry flies were more willing to put themselves into an unfavorable situation when they smelled food compared to when food was not present. When scientists disabled the nerve line for the hunger sensation, all of the flies avoided the dangerous situation regardless of how hungry they actually were.
Ilona Grunwald-Kadow, the head of the study, explains "If the fly is hungry, it will no longer rely on the 'direct line' but will use brain centres to gauge internal and external signals and reach a balanced decision. It is fascinating to see the extent to which metabolic processes and hunger affect the processing systems in the brain."
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