Exposure to high-fat diet from childhood may increase the sensitivity of the dopamine system later in adulthood, according to a study in male rats published in eNeuro. The research describes potential mechanisms that, if translated to humans, may drive people to seek foods that contribute to obesity.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that plays an important role in sensitization — the process by which repeated administration of a reward, being pharmacological such as amphetamine or natural such as highly palatable food, causes an increase in response to the reward.
In this study, Guillaume Ferreira and colleagues investigated the effects of high-fat diet exposure on sensitization to amphetamine, a psychostimulant acting through the dopamine system. The authors found that male rats fed a high-fat diet for three months, from weaning to adulthood, exhibited increased locomotor activity in response to a second injection of amphetamine, as well as increased activity of dopamine cells in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). These findings reveal that the development of the VTA-NAc pathway during adolescence is influenced by a high-fat diet, which may lead to long-term changes in reward-seeking behavior.
###
About eNeuro
eNeuro is an online, open-access journal published by the Society for Neuroscience. Established in 2014, eNeuro publishes a wide variety of content, including research articles, short reports, reviews, commentaries and opinions.
The Society for Neuroscience is the world's largest organization of scientists and physicians devoted to understanding the brain and nervous system. The nonprofit organization, founded in 1969, now has nearly 38,000 members in more than 90 countries and over 130 chapters worldwide.
Article: Impact of early consumption of high-fat diet on the mesolimbic dopaminergic system
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1523/ENEURO.0120-17.2017
Corresponding author: Guillaume Ferreira (INRA, Nutrition et Neurobiologie Intégrée, Bordeaux, France), [email protected]
Media Contact
David Barnstone
[email protected]
202-962-4000
@sfntweets
http://www.sfn.org
############
Story Source: Materials provided by Scienmag
