Word: shertleff
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...also showed a lowered level of a certain type of dopamine receptor in the brain, which is thought to contribute to pleasure-seeking behavior in humans. "Human cocaine addicts, people who are obese, alcoholics and heroin addicts also show a down-regulation of this dopamine D2 receptor," says David Shertleff, director of the division of basic neuroscience and behavioral research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "This system is geared toward motivating behavior normally, but what's happening here is, with chronic exposure to highly fatty and sweet manufactured food, you're actually getting to a pathological state...
...these factors - environmental exposure, environmental stress - can have an impact on the vulnerability to obesity or drug addiction," says Shertleff. Whether or not cheesecake is as addictive as crack, "what this research is really showing us is that we can learn something about compulsive eating from the addiction world," he says...
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