Addiction-like Synaptic Impairments in Diet-Induced Obesity
Robyn Mary Brown1,2, Yonatan Michael Kupchik1,3, Sade Spencer1
1Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425.
Biological Psychiatry
|February 1, 2016
Summary
Compulsive overeating in diet-induced obesity (DIO) shares neurological underpinnings with addiction. DIO-prone rats exhibit addictive-like behaviors and synaptic plasticity deficits in the nucleus accumbens.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Addiction Research
- Obesity Studies
Background:
- Pathological overeating in obesity shows compulsive, addictive disorder-like traits.
- Direct physiological evidence linking obesity to addiction-related synaptic plasticity is lacking.
- The nucleus accumbens core is a key brain region implicated in addiction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if diet-induced obesity (DIO) propensity correlates with addictive-like behaviors.
- To determine if DIO is associated with synaptic impairments in the nucleus accumbens core.
- To explore potential shared neurological mechanisms between compulsive overeating and addiction.
Main Methods:
- Rats were divided into DIO-prone and DIO-resistant groups based on weight gain from palatable diet access.
- Operant self-administration sessions assessed motivation and intake under various schedules.
- Electrophysiological recordings in nucleus accumbens slices measured AMPA/NMDA current ratios and long-term depression (LTD) induction.
Main Results:
- DIO-prone rats displayed deficits in inducing long-term depression (LTD) in the nucleus accumbens.
- Synapses in DIO-prone rats showed increased potentiation, indicated by altered AMPA/NMDA current ratios.
- DIO-prone rats exhibited addictive-like behaviors: heightened motivation, excessive intake, and increased food seeking when unavailable.
Conclusions:
- Propensity for DIO is linked to specific synaptic plasticity changes in the nucleus accumbens.
- These synaptic alterations mirror those observed in addiction research.
- Findings support overlapping neurological underpinnings for compulsive overeating and drug addiction.
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