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Area postrema

The area postrema is a tiny spot at the bottom of the brain that can sense chemicals in the blood. It is linked to feeling sick to your stomach. Scientists are studying whether it plays a part in the nausea some people feel with GLP-1 medicines.

For experts

The area postrema is a hindbrain circumventricular structure that is anatomically privileged to detect blood-borne signals and is implicated in nausea. In mice, GLP-1 receptor-expressing cells are abundant in the area postrema, and a mouse cell atlas identified excitatory neurons that drive nausea-related behaviours. In rats, liraglutide-dependent weight loss did not depend on GLP-1 receptors in this region; its role in human nausea with GLP-1 receptor agonists is not settled.

Sources (3)

  1. 01Area Postrema Cell Types that Mediate Nausea-Associated BehaviorsNeuron (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2021-02-03 · accessed 2026-09-29
  2. 02Identification and characterization of GLP-1 receptor-expressing cells using a new transgenic mouse modelDiabetes (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2014-04 · accessed 2026-09-29
  3. 03The arcuate nucleus mediates GLP-1 receptor agonist liraglutide-dependent weight lossJournal of Clinical Investigation (indexed in PubMed, NCBI/NLM) · 2014-10 · accessed 2026-09-29