A balanced diet and exercise are the main protective factors against the overweight. But scientists have long known that genetics plays an important role in the onset of obesity, and that the culprit was probably dopamine, a mediator in the brain that is key to the sensation of pleasure…

Eating temporarily boosts dopamine levels. Brain scans suggest that the obese have fewer dopamine receptors in the brain that thin people. And a particular gene variant, the Taq1A1, which correlates to fewer dopamine receptors.

To arrive at this observation, Stice’s team had first sought to study the immediate reactions against brain food: move inside a MRI machine to false measurements, which ruled out the possibility of drink their milkshake for women during radiological examination.

Dana Smalll specialist neuroscience, has solved this problem by using a special syringe delivering directly into the mouth a small amount of milkshake or a neutral solution, to perform the examination without the participants did move.

The researchers then recruited volunteers: 43 female students aged 18-22 years and 33 adolescents 14-18 years. According to the calculation of body mass index, the girls were very thin to obese.


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