Satiety, nausea or anxiety can all lead to a loss of appetite. Delaying eating can be a healthy move by the body to prevent further damage and to gain time for regenerating. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence now identified the circuit in the brain that prevents mice from eating when they feel nauseous. The decisive role is played by special nerve cells in the amygdala – a brain region involved when emotions run high. The cells are activated during nausea and elicit appetite-suppressing signals. The findings highlight the complex regulation of eating behavior, as the loss of appetite during nausea is controlled by different circuits than during satiety.