On March 15, 2024, John Glendinning, Associate Chair and Ann Whitney Olin Professor of Biological Sciences, alongside two Barnard students, Zoee Drimmer ’26 and Rayna Isber ’26, published new research in Physiology & Behavior, titled “Individual differences in cephalic-phase insulin response are stable over time and predict glucose tolerance in mice.”
Cephalic-phase insulin response (CPIR) is a rapid insulin response triggered by oral glucose stimulation, leading to enhanced glucose tolerance. This response has been documented in many mammal species, but not much is known about its functional properties. With this research, Glendinning and his colleagues set out to learn more about CPIR using three experiments conducted on mice. The first experiment tested the validity of the large individual differences in CPIR magnitude across individuals indicated by previous studies. The researchers measured CPIR magnitude over 30 days in the same mice. Building on this, the second experiment examined the different effects of high and low CPIR magnitudes. The third and final experiment tested whether a rapid rise in blood glucose by itself could trigger the CPIRs.
Ultimately, Glendinning and his colleagues found that significant differences in CPIR magnitude did occur naturally across individual subjects and that higher CPIR magnitudes contributed to larger postprandial insulin responses and greater glucose tolerance. Based on the results of their final experiment, the researchers also concluded that a rapid rise in blood glucose is insufficient to trigger CPIR in mice.