"The finding that the basolateral amygdala only appears involved in the opioid produced consumption was the most surprising part of the study," Will said. "Normally, if a rat stops eating, they will go lay down and take it easy. In this case, they showed all signs of still wanting to eat, but didn't."

In the past when food availability was scarce, humans may have needed this "binge eating" regulation to eat enough food when it was available. Now, when humans have access to foods high in sugar and fat 24 hours a day, this regulation can cause humans to overeat.

The study, "Behavioral Characterization of Amygdala Involvement in Mediating Intra-Accumbens Opioid-Driven Feeding Behavior," was published in August in Behavioral Neuroscience.

Source: University of Missouri-Columbia