• NEUROPHARMACOLOGY
• NUTRITION
• OBESITY
• PSYCHOLOGY

The aetiology of obesity represents a complex interplay between internal and external environmental factors leading to a positive energy balance. One eating behaviour known as food addiction has been shown to be highly correlated with obesity in humans.1

In GUT, Solveiga Samulènaité et al investigated the potential role of gut microbiota signatures in the development of food addiction.2 They identified the gut commensal Blautia as being negatively correlated with food addiction criteria in mice and humans, indicating a potential role in the gut-brain axis regulating the food reward system.2

The research team highlighted the importance of developing tools to study the underlying mechanisms leading to food addiction, including the vulnerability variables. Not everyone exposed to palatable food (rich in fat and sugar) becomes addicted. They previously described two mechanisms underlying susceptibility to food addiction: a prelimbic to nucleus accumbens brain circuit, and specific epigenetic mechanisms.3 4

In this context, the research team developed and validated an animal model of food addiction using an operant wall conditioning system and categorisation based on the Yale Food Addiction …