Study: Looking at Food Display Can Trigger Chemical Reaction in Brain

Just looking at a display of food can cause a spike in the level of dopamine in the brain, a neurotransmitter linked with feelings of pleasure and reward, according to researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory.

This activation of dopamine is different from the role dopamine plays when people eat, and may be more like the craving that is experienced by an addict, the researchers said.

When food-deprived study participants were allowed to smell and taste their favorite foods without actually eating them, researchers found a significant elevation in their brain dopamine, according to the study published in the journal Synapse.

"Eating is a highly reinforcing behavior, just like taking illicit drugs," said Nora Volkow, psychiatrist and lead investigator. "But this is the first time anyone has shown that the dopamine system can be triggered by food when there is no pleasure associated with it since the subjects don't eat the food. This provides us with new clues about the mechanisms that lead people to eat other than just for pleasure, and in this respect may help us understand why some people overeat."

Other sources: Brookhaven National Laboratory