Hunger (constant)

From the point of view of the brain, the hypothalamus, down in the center of the subcortex, regulates various things which often occur together as problems. Temperature regulation, sleep regulation and the sense of hunger vs. satiety. Often people who eat when they “shouldn’t be” hungry, who don’t get the message of satiety, also have dysregulated sleep patterns and a very narrow range of comfort with temperature. They are always hot or cold–and have to control the environment rather than their bodies adjusting.

There isn’t a way, using EEG, to train the hypothalamus, but it is a central part of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS), and it is affected by neurotransmitters. The parasympathetic (rest and digest) branch of the ANS activates the stomach and intestines for eating; the sympathetic (fight or flight) shuts them down. Dopamine is, among other things, the chemical of reward. I usually think of dopamine release being related to the SMR frequency. Certainly the kind of person who has difficulty with sleep, impulse control and other physical regulatory functions–i.e. ASD and ADHD diagnostic groups–often have very low levels.

But wait! There’s more! Serotonin, the neurotransmitter that actually is largely released in the gut, has a physiological function of reducing appetite. I think of serotonin release as being related to appropriate alpha production. Both alpha and SMR (alpha for the body) are middle frequencies–again, those which are missing in Filtering categories like ADHD and ASD.

What you eat–especially heavy carb/high junk food/heavy sugar–does have an effect. They are processed quickly into energy and stored into fat. They also affect the release of insulin and many of the dyscontrolled issues with insulin resistance that are commonly found in high-carb diets. I guess the question would be which is the chicken and which is the egg. If your brain doesn’t experience satiety, then you want to eat more, etc. And if you eat lots of carbs, you don’t stay satisfied very long.

Bottom line: as with almost every “symptom” that you can use to try to drive training plans and determine success, track it, but don’t try to train it. ADHD/ASD/Filtering brains almost invariably lack good alpha and SMR. Very likely if you train to reduce (especially) high-beta, which is an energy hog, and teach the brain to enter those middle frequencies, sleep, impulse-control, temperature regulation and, yes, probably appetite will all improve.