Addictive-like eating behavior and substance dependence share similar patterns of neural activation, according to a new functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, raising the possibility that the current emphasis on personal responsibility as the potential antidote to the obesity epidemic may be misguided.
After evaluating 48 healthy women, investigators found that food cues for a desirable product led to increased activity in the brain’s reward regions, including the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the caudate, whereas the response to food intake resulted in reduced activation of inhibitory regions.
«Our findings showed high reward-related activation in brain regions that are implicated in craving and enhanced motivation in a very similar manner to what you would typically expect to see with alcoholism or nicotine dependence,» lead author Ashley Gearhardt, MS, clinical psychology doctoral student involved with the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, told Medscape Medical News.
The investigators note that although previous studies have shown associations between obesity and substance dependence, this is the first to assess the neural correlates of food addiction behaviors.
Les mer: Food Addiction, Substance Dependence Share Common Ground (Krever gratis registrering og innlogging på Medscape.com)
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