You really may be addicted to that chocolate cake [View All]

[PfcHammer]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040421/od_uk_nm/oukoe_science_cravings_1

You really may be addicted to that chocolate cake

Wed Apr 21, 3:52 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People who say they are addicted to chocolate or pizza may not be exaggerating, U.S.-based scientists say.

A brain scan study of normal, hungry people showed their brains lit up when they saw and smelled their favourite foods in much the same way as the brains of cocaine addicts when they think about their next snort.

"Food presentation significantly increased metabolism in the whole brain (by 24 percent) and these changes were largest in superior temporal, anterior insula, and orbitofrontal cortices," they wrote.

These areas are associated with addiction. For instance, the orbitofrontal cortex has been seen to activate in cocaine users when they think about the drug.

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