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1Department of Psychiatry, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. msgold@ufl.edu.
Physiology & Behavior
|May 3, 2011
Summary
This research explores the connection between drug addiction and food addiction, suggesting that pathological eating behaviors may be treatable with new medications targeting food reinforcement.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- The drive for food shares similarities with the mechanisms of drug reinforcement and withdrawal.
- Food can function as an object of desire, mirroring the effects of drugs of abuse.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate working models for pathological attachment to eating.
- To explore the concept of food addiction as a behavioral disorder.
Main Methods:
- Observational studies and empirical experience linking drug use and food-seeking behaviors.
- Investigating established models of reinforcement and addiction.
Main Results:
- Drugs of abuse and the drive for food exhibit related mechanisms.
- Food can act as a drug of abuse in terms of desire and reinforcement.
Conclusions:
- Pathological eating and food addiction are areas of active investigation.
- Pharmacological interventions targeting food reinforcement may offer future treatment avenues for food addiction.
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