Jan 19, 2020 01:19 AM
(This post was last modified: Jan 19, 2020 01:20 AM by C C.)
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/327512.php
EXCERPT: . . . Relying heavily on the neurotransmitter dopamine, the reward system helps explain several quintessential human experiences, such as falling in love, sexual pleasure, and enjoying time with friends. [...] certain substances, such as drugs, hijack the brain's reward system, "artificially" activating it. Telling the brain to repeat pleasure-seeking behavior constantly is the mechanism behind addiction.
[...] The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. The scientists analyzed the effects of sugar intake on seven female Göttingen minipigs, using complex PET imaging techniques with opioid receptor agonists and dopamine receptor antagonists to examine the animals' brain reward systems.
The team gave the minipigs access to a sucrose solution for 1 hour on 12 consecutive days and then retook the scans 24 hours after the last sugar dose. In a subgroup of five minipigs, the team applied an additional PET scanning session after the first exposure to sugar.
"After just 12 days of sugar intake, we could see major changes in the brain's dopamine and opioid systems," reports Winterdahl. "In fact, the opioid system, which is that part of the brain's chemistry that is associated with well-being and pleasure, was already activated after the very first intake," adds the study's lead author. Specifically, there were alterations in the "striatum, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, amygdala, cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex" after the sugar intake.
The findings, conclude the researchers, imply that "foods high in sucrose influence brain reward circuitry in ways similar to those observed when addictive drugs are consumed."
The lead researcher explains that the findings contradicted his initial expectations. "There is no doubt that sugar has several physiological effects, and there are many reasons why it is not healthy. But I have been in doubt of the effects sugar has on our brain and behavior, [and] I had hoped to be able to kill a myth." (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: . . . Relying heavily on the neurotransmitter dopamine, the reward system helps explain several quintessential human experiences, such as falling in love, sexual pleasure, and enjoying time with friends. [...] certain substances, such as drugs, hijack the brain's reward system, "artificially" activating it. Telling the brain to repeat pleasure-seeking behavior constantly is the mechanism behind addiction.
[...] The researchers published their findings in the journal Scientific Reports. The scientists analyzed the effects of sugar intake on seven female Göttingen minipigs, using complex PET imaging techniques with opioid receptor agonists and dopamine receptor antagonists to examine the animals' brain reward systems.
The team gave the minipigs access to a sucrose solution for 1 hour on 12 consecutive days and then retook the scans 24 hours after the last sugar dose. In a subgroup of five minipigs, the team applied an additional PET scanning session after the first exposure to sugar.
"After just 12 days of sugar intake, we could see major changes in the brain's dopamine and opioid systems," reports Winterdahl. "In fact, the opioid system, which is that part of the brain's chemistry that is associated with well-being and pleasure, was already activated after the very first intake," adds the study's lead author. Specifically, there were alterations in the "striatum, nucleus accumbens, thalamus, amygdala, cingulate cortex, and prefrontal cortex" after the sugar intake.
The findings, conclude the researchers, imply that "foods high in sucrose influence brain reward circuitry in ways similar to those observed when addictive drugs are consumed."
The lead researcher explains that the findings contradicted his initial expectations. "There is no doubt that sugar has several physiological effects, and there are many reasons why it is not healthy. But I have been in doubt of the effects sugar has on our brain and behavior, [and] I had hoped to be able to kill a myth." (MORE - details)