bitter bite

New Delhi, Dec. 11: If you can resist drawing on a cigarette but not biting into a rosogolla, you may still be suffering from an addiction.

A new study on laboratory rats may have helped scientists move closer to deconstructing the human craving for sweets, whether it’s for rosogollas, baklava or caramel bread pudding.

A research team led by Bart Hoebel at the Princeton University in the US has found that sugar produces the same effect on the brains of rats as nicotine or cocaine, suggesting that sugar may be as addictive as substances of abuse.

The experiments on a group of rats offered sugar-laced drinks have revealed all three key elements of addiction — gorging, withdrawal, and craving, the uncontrollable and compulsive desire to find and consume a substance.

“Sugar causes changes in brain receptors similar to changes we observe with drugs of abuse,” said Hoebel, professor of psychology at Princeton who will present the findings at a conference of the American Society of Neuropsychopharmacology.

“The effect has yet to be confirmed in humans,” Heobel cautioned. “But it may have implications on how one treats people addicted to sugar,” Heobel told The Telegraph on phone shortly before presenting his findings in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The researchers found that when a hungry rat drank the sugary solution, a chemical called dopamine was released in a part of the brain called the nucleus accumbens. This, neuroscientists believe, was a chemical signal that triggers motivation and, over time, addiction.

Hungry rats gulping the sugar drinks displayed a surge of dopamine in their brains, but after about a month, the brains of rats adapted to high dopamine levels.

The experiments by the Princeton team suggest that very sweet foods could to dependency. The sugar triggered the production of opioids. Dopamine initiated food seeking behaviour and opioids prolonged the meal.

Hoebel said the findings point to a link between addiction to traditional substances of abuse such as nicotine, morphine or cocaine and the development of abnormal desires for a substance found in even natural substances.

Scientists have long known that addictive substances are taken in binges — massive consumption in a short period of time. Binge consumption of sugar appears to have long-lasting effects on the brain and increases the inclination to take other drugs of abuse such as alcohol, Hoebel said.

A psychiatrist in India who specialises in addiction disorders said the findings were not surprising. “We know that people with addiction problems often report that they can cut down their craving by eating sugary food,” said Vivek Benegal, associate professor at the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bangalore.

In their experiments, Hoebel and his colleagues have also induced signs of withdrawal by denying rats the sugar drinks. As the levels of dopamine dropped, the rats showed anxiety — a symptom of withdrawal. The rats’ teeth chattered and they were unwilling to explore the open areas of their maze, but preferred to stay within an enclosed area, unusual behaviour for laboratory rats.