Obesity, diabetes and co-morbidities, such as hypertension, are a serious health burden for the patient and a strain on public resources. Promising drugs that might be beneficial for the treatment of these conditions are glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) analogues. GLP-1 is a hormone that is secreted from the gut after a meal. It is also produced in the brain. Its principal role is to improve the digestion of sugars, and to generate the sensation of fullness, or satiety. The aim of our project is to improve our knowledge of the relative importance of the brain and gut GLP-1 signalling in the control of blood sugar and food intake, and to clarify whether GLP-1 analogues, which are already in clinical use, activate the brain GLP-1 system. Neurons that produce GLP-1 have been found in the brainstem. These cells send a network of nerve fibres to many parts of the brain, including the hypothalamus, a brain region implicated in the regulation of appetite. We hypothesise that it is GLP-1 released from these brainstem cells that mediates the satiety effects, some of the beneficial effects on blood glucose control, and further functions that are less well understood, such as in cardiovascular control, developing of hypertension, nausea and vomiting, and learning and memory. The proposed research will clarify the exact role of GLP-1 neurons in these effects and thus validate their importance as a drug target for treatment of metabolic disease.