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Updated: May 11, 2026

Simultaneous Detection of c-Fos Activation from Mesolimbic and Mesocortical Dopamine Reward Sites Following Naive Sugar and Fat Ingestion in Rats
Published on: August 24, 2016
'Food addiction' and its association with a dopaminergic multilocus genetic profile
Caroline Davis1, Natalie J Loxton, Robert D Levitan
1School of Kinesiology and Health Sciences, York University, Toronto, Canada; The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Canada. cdavis@yorku.ca
Background:
Our objective was to employ a novel genetic methodology - whereby functional variants of the dopamine pathway were aggregated to reflect a polygenic liability - in the study of food addiction. We anticipated that the composite index of elevated dopamine signaling (a multilocus genetic profile score [MLGP]) would distinguish those with a designation of food addiction (according to the Yale Food Addiction Scale [YFAS] criteria), and age and weight equivalent controls. Our second aim was to assess whether this index was positively associated with eating-related sub-phenotypes of food addiction (e.g. binge eating and food cravings).
Methods:
Adults (n=120) recruited from the community were solicited for an overeating/overweight study. Eating-behavior questionnaires were completed and a blood sample was taken for genotyping.
Results And Conclusions:
The YFAS identified 21 participants with food addiction. As predicted, the MLGP score was higher in those with YFAS-diagnosed food addiction, and it correlated positively with binge eating, food cravings, and emotional overeating. We then tested a multiple-mediation model proposing that reward-driven overeating facilitates the relationship between the MLGP score and food addiction. The model was statistically significant, supporting the view that the relationship between a composite genetic index of dopamine signaling and food addiction is mediated by certain aspects of reward-responsive overeating.
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