SAN DIEGO — New research is uncovering how medications targeting the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) system affect brain circuits involved in nausea, thirst, and pleasurable behaviors. These findings will be presented at Neuroscience 2025, the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
Medications targeting the GLP-1 system are effective treatments for type 2 diabetes and obesity. GLP-1 drugs mimic a hormone that is naturally released in the gastrointestinal tract in response to eating and act in the brain to reduce hunger. However, these medications result in side effects like nausea and vomiting in up to 40% of people who take them, causing many patients to discontinue treatment. Researchers are investigating whether some of the adverse actions of GLP-1 drugs can be separated from their effects on weight loss, as well as potential other beneficial uses of these medications.
Today’s new findings show that:
“Research demonstrates an effect of these medications on the brain beyond treating diabetes and obesity, via mechanisms that are still not fully understood,” says Lorenzo Leggio, MD, PhD , a physician-scientist and clinical director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), part of the National Institutes of Health. “GLP-1 therapies appear to have multiple synergistic effects that may be useful for treating chronic diseases with overlapping neural mechanisms, including binge eating disorders and addictive disorders.”
This research was supported by national funding agencies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and private funding organizations. This content is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of NIH or VA. For complete access to Neuroscience 2025 in person and online, request media credentials .
Monday, November 17, 2025
9–10 a.m. PST
San Diego Convention Center, Room 15A, and online for registered media
GLP-1 Press Conference Summary
The anti-obesity effect of tirzepatide is augmented by systemic oxytocin treatment in male diet-induced obese rats
James E. Blevins, jeblevin@uw.edu , Abstract PSTR033.02
A single dorsal vagal complex circuit mediates the aversive and anorectic responses to GLP1R agonists
Warren Yacawych, yacawych@umich.edu , Abstract PSTR083.12
A brain reward circuit inhibited by next-generation weight loss drugs
Ali D. Güler, aguler@virginia.edu , Abstract PSTR151.06
The impact of drinking on neural activity glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor immunoreactivity in vasopressin-deficient Brattleboro rats
Derek Daniels, danielsd@buffalo.edu , Abstract PSTR083.03
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 30,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system.