The biopsychology of salt hunger and sodium deficiency

Seth W Hurley; Alan Kim Johnson

doi:10.1007/s00424-014-1676-y

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The biopsychology of salt hunger and sodium deficiency

Journal article

Peer reviewed

The biopsychology of salt hunger and sodium deficiency

Seth W Hurley and Alan Kim Johnson

Pflügers Archiv, Vol.467(3), pp.445-456

03/2015

DOI: 10.1007/s00424-014-1676-y

PMCID: PMC4433288

PMID: 25572931

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/4433288View

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Abstract

Sodium is a necessary dietary macromineral that tended to be sparsely distributed in mankind's environment in the past. Evolutionary selection pressure shaped physiological mechanisms including hormonal systems and neural circuits that serve to promote sodium ingestion. Sodium deficiency triggers the activation of these hormonal systems and neural circuits to engage motivational processes that elicit a craving for salty substances and a state of reward when salty foods are consumed. Sodium deficiency also appears to be associated with aversive psychological states including anhedonia, impaired cognition, and fatigue. Under certain circumstances the psychological processes that promote salt intake can become powerful enough to cause "salt gluttony," or salt intake far in excess of physiological need. The present review discusses three aspects of the biopsychology of salt hunger and sodium deficiency: (1) the psychological processes that promote salt intake during sodium deficiency, (2) the effects of sodium deficiency on mood and cognition, and (3) the sensitization of sodium appetite as a possible cause of salt gluttony.

Appetite

Hunger

Animals

Humans

Sodium Chloride, Dietary - metabolism

Taste Perception

Taste

Water-Electrolyte Balance

Hyponatremia - metabolism

Details

Title: Subtitle: The biopsychology of salt hunger and sodium deficiency
Creators: Seth W Hurley - Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, 11 Seashore Hall E, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA
Alan Kim Johnson
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Pflügers Archiv, Vol.467(3), pp.445-456
DOI: 10.1007/s00424-014-1676-y
PMID: 25572931
PMCID: PMC4433288
NLM abbreviation: Pflugers Arch
ISSN: 0031-6768
eISSN: 1432-2013
Publisher: Germany
Grant note: P01 HL014388 / NHLBI NIH HHS R01 MH080241 / NIMH NIH HHS HL14388 / NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL098207 / NHLBI NIH HHS HL098207 / NHLBI NIH HHS MH08241 / NIMH NIH HHS
Language: English
Date published: 03/2015
Academic Unit: Psychological and Brain Sciences; Neuroscience and Pharmacology; Health, Sport, and Human Physiology
Record Identifier: 9984002576002771

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