Sugar withdrawal causes anxiety in rats

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Friday, July 16, 2010 11:22 am Email this article
Rats taught to binge on sugar, show signs of withdrawal when the sugar is taken away according to research from Princeton professor Bart Hoebel and his team from the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute in Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

“In experiments, the researchers have been able to induce signs of withdrawal in the lab animals by taking away their sugar supply,” notes the press release about this research.

“The rats’ brain levels of dopamine dropped and, as a result, they exhibited anxiety as a sign of withdrawal.”

“The rats’ teeth chattered, and the creatures were unwilling to venture forth into the open arm of their maze, preferring to stay in a tunnel area.”

“Normally rats like to explore their environment, but the rats in sugar withdrawal were too anxious to explore.”

Additional Study Info

Additional information about the studies posted here

Additional information about sugar addiction are posted here.

REFERENCE

Hoebel B, Avena N, Rada P. Sugar can be addictive, princeton scientist says : Animal studies show sugar dependence. Press Release from Princeton University. 2008 Dec 10, http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-12/pu-scb120908.php.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Bart Hoebel
Department of Psychology
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-4463 phone
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