Scientists have finally confirmed what the rest of us have suspected for years: delicious tasty brains may be addictive.
Recent studies have shown that eating too much brain gradually overloads the so-called pleasure centers in undead rats. “Eventually the pleasure centers 'crash,' and achieving the same pleasure requires increasing amounts of food”, says Kenny, lead author on the study.
The study further suggests that the effect of eating brains is similar to the effects of cocaine and heroin. When consumed in large quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.
"There's more to it than just hunger," he says. "There's a system in the brain that's been turned on or over-activated, which drives [overeating] at some subconscious level."
In the study, Kenny and his co-author studied three groups of undead rats for 40 days. One of the groups was fed regular portions human brain. A second group was allowed to pig out on brains for up to 24 hours a day. Not surprisingly, the rats that were allowed to engorge themselves on human brains 24-7 quickly became obese. But their brains also changed.
They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats' feet in the presence of brains, the rats in the first group were frightened away from eating. The obese rats however, were not. "Their attention was solely focused on consuming food," says Kenny.
The neurotransmitter dopamine appears to be responsible for the behavior of the overeating rats, according to the study. This could shed some light as to why destroying the creatures brains leads to its immediate stop of activity.
Although he acknowledges that his research may not directly translate to humans, Kenny says his findings shed new light on the mechanisms that drive the feeding frenzy for brains and could even lead to new treatments for Deceased Ambulatory Viral Hosts. "You can't mimic undead human behavior completely, but [undead animal studies] can give you a clue about what can happen in undead humans," Kenny says.
Origin story found at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/28/fatty.foods.brain/index.html?hpt=Sbin
Recent studies have shown that eating too much brain gradually overloads the so-called pleasure centers in undead rats. “Eventually the pleasure centers 'crash,' and achieving the same pleasure requires increasing amounts of food”, says Kenny, lead author on the study.
The study further suggests that the effect of eating brains is similar to the effects of cocaine and heroin. When consumed in large quantities, it leads to compulsive eating habits that resemble drug addiction, the study found.
"There's more to it than just hunger," he says. "There's a system in the brain that's been turned on or over-activated, which drives [overeating] at some subconscious level."
In the study, Kenny and his co-author studied three groups of undead rats for 40 days. One of the groups was fed regular portions human brain. A second group was allowed to pig out on brains for up to 24 hours a day. Not surprisingly, the rats that were allowed to engorge themselves on human brains 24-7 quickly became obese. But their brains also changed.
They began to eat compulsively, to the point where they continued to do so in the face of pain. When the researchers applied an electric shock to the rats' feet in the presence of brains, the rats in the first group were frightened away from eating. The obese rats however, were not. "Their attention was solely focused on consuming food," says Kenny.
The neurotransmitter dopamine appears to be responsible for the behavior of the overeating rats, according to the study. This could shed some light as to why destroying the creatures brains leads to its immediate stop of activity.
Although he acknowledges that his research may not directly translate to humans, Kenny says his findings shed new light on the mechanisms that drive the feeding frenzy for brains and could even lead to new treatments for Deceased Ambulatory Viral Hosts. "You can't mimic undead human behavior completely, but [undead animal studies] can give you a clue about what can happen in undead humans," Kenny says.
Origin story found at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/03/28/fatty.foods.brain/index.html?hpt=Sbin
