Are we addicted to food?

As the battle of the bulge seems headed toward becomingthe “culture war of the new century,” with state legislaturesdiscussing and/or passing bills to ban “junk food” fromschools and trial lawyers gearing up to file lawsuits againstthe food industry, much as they did against the tobaccoindustry (1,2), it is very likely that the scientific communitywill come under increasing pressure to answer the questionof why we eat so much.Rare forms of obesity caused by defects of the energyhomeostasis regulatory mechanisms operating in the sub-conscious brain have been described in animals and humans(3). However, eating is as much a means of achievingenergy balance as it is a form of pleasure and reward. Thismakes the drive to eat one of the most powerful urges ofanimal and human behavior.

[1]  J S Fowler,et al.  Addiction, a disease of compulsion and drive: involvement of the orbitofrontal cortex. , 2000, Cerebral cortex.

[2]  C. Bogardus,et al.  A Ser311Cys mutation in the human dopamine receptor D2 gene is associated with reduced energy expenditure. , 2001, Diabetes.

[3]  P. S. Grigson.  Like drugs for chocolate Separate rewards modulated by common mechanisms? , 2002, Physiology & Behavior.

[4]  R. Palmiter,et al.  Dopamine Production in the Caudate Putamen Restores Feeding in Dopamine-Deficient Mice , 2001, Neuron.

[5]  W. Schultz,et al.  Dopamine neurons of the monkey midbrain: contingencies of responses to active touch during self-initiated arm movements. , 1990, Journal of neurophysiology.

[6]  D. Grandy,et al.  D2 dopamine receptor gene and obesity. , 1994, The International journal of eating disorders.

[7]  S. Woods,et al.  Central nervous system control of food intake , 2000, Nature.

[8]  N. Volkow,et al.  “Nonhedonic” food motivation in humans involves dopamine in the dorsal striatum and methylphenidate amplifies this effect , 2002, Synapse.

[9]  D. Comings,et al.  The dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2) as a major gene in obesity and height. , 1993, Biochemical medicine and metabolic biology.

[10]  T. Baptista.  Body weight gain induced by antipsychotic drugs: mechanisms and management , 1999, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[11]  U. Ungerstedt.  Adipsia and aphagia after 6-hydroxydopamine induced degeneration of the nigro-striatal dopamine system. , 1971, Acta physiologica Scandinavica. Supplementum.

[12]  Stricker Em,et al.  Brain catecholamines and the central control of food intake. , 1984 .

[13]  C Bogardus,et al.  Association of dopamine D2 receptor polymorphisms Ser311Cys and TaqIA with obesity or type 2 diabetes mellitus in Pima Indians , 2000, International Journal of Obesity.

[14]  W. Schultz.  Book Review: Reward Signaling by Dopamine Neurons , 2001, The Neuroscientist : a review journal bringing neurobiology, neurology and psychiatry.

[15]  Dana M Small,et al.  Toward an Understanding of the Brain Substrates of Reward in Humans , 2002, Neuron.

[16]  W. Schultz.  Getting Formal with Dopamine and Reward , 2002, Neuron.

[17]  F. Bloom,et al.  Neuroscience of Addiction , 1998, Neuron.

[18]  R. Wise,et al.  Drug Self-Administration Viewed as Ingestive Behaviour , 1997, Appetite.

[19]  E M Reiman,et al.  Differential brain responses to satiation in obese and lean men. , 2000, Diabetes.

[20]  J. O'Doherty,et al.  Neural Responses during Anticipation of a Primary Taste Reward , 2002, Neuron.

[21]  J. Rothwell.  Principles of Neural Science , 1982 .

[22]  E. Ravussin,et al.  Neuroanatomical correlates of hunger and satiation in humans using positron emission tomography. , 1999, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

[23]  M. Pelchat,et al.  Of human bondage: food craving, obsession, compulsion, and addiction. , 2002, Physiology & behavior.

[24]  C. Saper,et al.  The Need to Feed Homeostatic and Hedonic Control of Eating , 2002, Neuron.

[25]  A. Saiardi,et al.  Parkinsonian-like locomotor impairment in mice lacking dopamine D2 receptors , 1995, Nature.

[26]  Jean Logan,et al.  Brain dopamine and obesity , 2001, The Lancet.

[27]  Alan C. Evans,et al.  Changes in brain activity related to eating chocolate: from pleasure to aversion. , 2001, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[28]  S. Haber,et al.  Opioid modulation of taste hedonics within the ventral striatum , 2002, Physiology & Behavior.

[29]  Alain Dagher,et al.  Feeding-induced dopamine release in dorsal striatum correlates with meal pleasantness ratings in healthy human volunteers , 2003, NeuroImage.