Scientists Explore the Key Mechanisms behind Food Reward

Rebecca Lewis March 13, 2013

Obesity is a growing concern not just in the UK but in many other countries in Europe. By understanding the brain mechanisms that make us want to eat, it is possible to create more effective strategies to fight obesity, a new study suggests.

A team of researchers, headed by Suzanne Dickson of Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, studied the key areas in the brain involved in food preference and food reward. According to Dickson, who is a professor of physiology and neuroendocrinology at the Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, they decided to work on particular areas because there is growing evidence that link binge eating to the brain mechanisms involved in reward.

The team studied an area of the brain that plays a critical role in the brain’s reward circuitry – the ventral tegmental area (VTA). Dickson said it is the home of dopamine cells that are activated by rewards, including food rewards. VTA has a very complex role in a person’s reward circuitry. Many scientists believe that this area is involved in food searching behaviours, and may easily be activated just by cues associated with foods. For instance, a person may crave for ice cream just after seeing an image of it.

Food Reward vs. Hunger

The researchers also determine the key difference between the pleasure centres involved in food intake and hunger. They argued that whether people are hungry or not, they have the tendency to binge-eat by increasing the reward value the food brings. This mechanism has been developed by the human race thousands of years ago, as a coping strategy to the effects of famine. But in the modern times, food reward is more likely to endanger the lives of individuals, rather than save them, according to the researchers. Food reward only triggers people to overeat and over-indulge in fatty and sweet foods even if they are not hungry. On the other hand, the hunger centre is activated as a result of nutrient deficiency. Dickson explained that if people enter into a negative energy balance, their homeostatic pathways become activated which in turn affect their eating behaviours.

By understanding the underlying mechanisms that motivate the brain to overeat, it is possible to change a person’s reward behaviour towards food, said Dickson. In future studies, her team hopes to develop a better approach to helping people manage their weight and avoid the life-threatening consequences of obesity by focusing more on the brain – where information about food reward and hunger are formed.

Source of this article:

Suzanne Dickson: Brain mechanisms of food reward