Louise Thibault

Dr. Thibault’s research activities are in the general area of nutrition and behaviour, focusing in understanding the underlying neuroendocronological events involved in the nutritional modulation of feeding behaviour. Significant research contributions include the elucidation of sensory-specific learned eating, a widely assumed but under-researched form of dietary learning. Such learnt coordination of metabolic effects of foods with their sensory characteristics in determining choices of what foods to eat and how much to eat of them is of growing interest to the scientific community. These findings are also central to the intake of energy that contributes to obesity. Animal work: Learned eating in dietary obese laboratory rats. Recent work has led to the intriguing possibility that impaired learned eating in obese animals is resulting from lower reward from food. Human work: Dietary influences in substance and alcohol addiction; Childhood obesity – foundational work for prevention of obesity and its chronic diseases consequences – Canada-India.