![]() "In this case, abstinence makes the heart grow fonder," Hoebel said. They consumed more sugar than they ever had before, suggesting craving and relapse behavior. ![]() Lab animals, in Hoebel's experiments, that were denied sugar for a prolonged period after learning to binge worked harder to get it when it was reintroduced to them. The findings eventually could have implications for the treatment of humans with eating disorders, he said. "We have the first set of comprehensive studies showing the strong suggestion of sugar addiction in rats and a mechanism that might underlie it," Hoebel said. "Craving and relapse are critical components of addiction, and we have been able to demonstrate these behaviors in sugar-bingeing rats in a number of ways."Īt the annual meeting of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology in Scottsdale, Ariz., Hoebel will report on profound behavioral changes in rats that, through experimental conditions, have been trained to become dependent on high doses of sugar. "If bingeing on sugar is really a form of addiction, there should be long-lasting effects in the brains of sugar addicts," Hoebel said. His current experiments captured craving and relapse to complete the picture. They have demonstrated a behavioral pattern of increased intake and then showed signs of withdrawal. Until now, the rats under study have met two of the three elements of addiction. Professor Bart Hoebel and his team in the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute have been studying signs of sugar addiction in rats for years.
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