Evidence for sugar addiction: behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake
Nicole M Avena, Pedro Rada, Bartley G Hoebel, Nicole M Avena, Pedro Rada, Bartley G Hoebel
Abstract
[Avena, N.M., Rada, P., Hoebel B.G., 2007. Evidence for sugar addiction: Behavioral and neurochemical effects of intermittent, excessive sugar intake. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews XX(X), XXX-XXX]. The experimental question is whether or not sugar can be a substance of abuse and lead to a natural form of addiction. "Food addiction" seems plausible because brain pathways that evolved to respond to natural rewards are also activated by addictive drugs. Sugar is noteworthy as a substance that releases opioids and dopamine and thus might be expected to have addictive potential. This review summarizes evidence of sugar dependence in an animal model. Four components of addiction are analyzed. "Bingeing," "withdrawal," "craving" and "cross-sensitization" are each given operational definitions and demonstrated behaviorally with sugar bingeing as the reinforcer. These behaviors are then related to neurochemical changes in the brain that also occur with addictive drugs. Neural adaptations include changes in dopamine and opioid receptor binding, enkephalin mRNA expression and dopamine and acetylcholine release in the nucleus accumbens. The evidence supports the hypothesis that under certain circumstances rats can become sugar dependent. This may translate to some human conditions as suggested by the literature on eating disorders and obesity.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2235907/bin/nihms36189f1.jpg)
![Figure 2](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2235907/bin/nihms36189f2.jpg)
Figure 3
Rats that have been maintained…
Figure 3
Rats that have been maintained on Daily Intermittent Sucrose and Chow are more…
Figure 4
After 14 days of abstinence…
Figure 4
After 14 days of abstinence from sugar, rats that previously had 12-h daily…
Figure 5
Locomotor activity in a photocell…
Figure 5
Locomotor activity in a photocell cage plotted as percent of baseline beam breaks…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA receptor binding at the level of the striatum.…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to sugar release DA in response to drinking sucrose…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased to 81% of baseline after naloxone injection (3…
- Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence.Avena NM. Avena NM. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Oct;15(5):481-91. doi: 10.1037/1064-1297.15.5.481. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007. PMID: 17924782 Review.
- Animal models of sugar and fat bingeing: relationship to food addiction and increased body weight.Avena NM, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG. Avena NM, et al. Methods Mol Biol. 2012;829:351-65. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_23. Methods Mol Biol. 2012. PMID: 22231826
- Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell.Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Rada P, et al. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-44. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.04.043. Neuroscience. 2005. PMID: 15987666
- Sugar addiction: the state of the science.Westwater ML, Fletcher PC, Ziauddeen H. Westwater ML, et al. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Nov;55(Suppl 2):55-69. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1229-6. Epub 2016 Jul 2. Eur J Nutr. 2016. PMID: 27372453 Free PMC article. Review.
- Overlap of food addiction and substance use disorders definitions: analysis of animal and human studies.Hone-Blanchet A, Fecteau S. Hone-Blanchet A, et al. Neuropharmacology. 2014 Oct;85:81-90. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.019. Epub 2014 May 24. Neuropharmacology. 2014. PMID: 24863044 Review.
- Maternal Over- and Malnutrition and Increased Risk for Addictive and Eating Disorders in the Offspring.Guillaumin MCC, Peleg-Raibstein D. Guillaumin MCC, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 22;15(5):1095. doi: 10.3390/nu15051095. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36904093 Free PMC article. Review.
- The Impact of Free Sugar on Human Health-A Narrative Review.Gillespie KM, Kemps E, White MJ, Bartlett SE. Gillespie KM, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 10;15(4):889. doi: 10.3390/nu15040889. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36839247 Free PMC article. Review.
- Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Metabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents with Obesity: A Narrative Review.Calcaterra V, Cena H, Magenes VC, Vincenti A, Comola G, Beretta A, Di Napoli I, Zuccotti G. Calcaterra V, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 30;15(3):702. doi: 10.3390/nu15030702. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36771409 Free PMC article. Review.
- The association between healthy beverage index and quality of life among overweight and obese women: a cross-sectional study.Rasaei N, Ghaffarian-Ensaf R, Shiraseb F, Fallah M, Gholami F, Clark CCT, Mirzaei K. Rasaei N, et al. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;23(1):176. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14501-1. BMC Public Health. 2023. PMID: 36698096 Free PMC article.
- Impact of Calorie-Restricted Cafeteria Diet and Treadmill Exercise on Sweet Taste in Diet-Induced Obese Female and Male Rats.Alvarez-Monell A, Subias-Gusils A, Mariné-Casadó R, Boqué N, Caimari A, Solanas M, Escorihuela RM. Alvarez-Monell A, et al. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 28;15(1):144. doi: 10.3390/nu15010144. Nutrients. 2022. PMID: 36615803 Free PMC article.
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Review
- Animals
- Behavior, Addictive / metabolism
- Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
- Brain / metabolism*
- Disease Models, Animal
- Eating / psychology*
- Feeding Behavior
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / metabolism
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / psychology*
- Humans
- Rats
- Self Administration / psychology
- Substance-Related Disorders / metabolism
- Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
- Sucrose / metabolism*
- Sucrose
- Full Text Sources
- Other Literature Sources
- Medical
NCBI Literature Resources
The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
![Figure 3](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2235907/bin/nihms36189f3.jpg)
Figure 4
After 14 days of abstinence…
Figure 4
After 14 days of abstinence from sugar, rats that previously had 12-h daily…
Figure 5
Locomotor activity in a photocell…
Figure 5
Locomotor activity in a photocell cage plotted as percent of baseline beam breaks…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA receptor binding at the level of the striatum.…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to sugar release DA in response to drinking sucrose…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased to 81% of baseline after naloxone injection (3…
- Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence.Avena NM. Avena NM. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Oct;15(5):481-91. doi: 10.1037/1064-1297.15.5.481. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007. PMID: 17924782 Review.
- Animal models of sugar and fat bingeing: relationship to food addiction and increased body weight.Avena NM, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG. Avena NM, et al. Methods Mol Biol. 2012;829:351-65. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_23. Methods Mol Biol. 2012. PMID: 22231826
- Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell.Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Rada P, et al. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-44. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.04.043. Neuroscience. 2005. PMID: 15987666
- Sugar addiction: the state of the science.Westwater ML, Fletcher PC, Ziauddeen H. Westwater ML, et al. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Nov;55(Suppl 2):55-69. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1229-6. Epub 2016 Jul 2. Eur J Nutr. 2016. PMID: 27372453 Free PMC article. Review.
- Overlap of food addiction and substance use disorders definitions: analysis of animal and human studies.Hone-Blanchet A, Fecteau S. Hone-Blanchet A, et al. Neuropharmacology. 2014 Oct;85:81-90. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.019. Epub 2014 May 24. Neuropharmacology. 2014. PMID: 24863044 Review.
- Maternal Over- and Malnutrition and Increased Risk for Addictive and Eating Disorders in the Offspring.Guillaumin MCC, Peleg-Raibstein D. Guillaumin MCC, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 22;15(5):1095. doi: 10.3390/nu15051095. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36904093 Free PMC article. Review.
- The Impact of Free Sugar on Human Health-A Narrative Review.Gillespie KM, Kemps E, White MJ, Bartlett SE. Gillespie KM, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 10;15(4):889. doi: 10.3390/nu15040889. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36839247 Free PMC article. Review.
- Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Metabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents with Obesity: A Narrative Review.Calcaterra V, Cena H, Magenes VC, Vincenti A, Comola G, Beretta A, Di Napoli I, Zuccotti G. Calcaterra V, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 30;15(3):702. doi: 10.3390/nu15030702. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36771409 Free PMC article. Review.
- The association between healthy beverage index and quality of life among overweight and obese women: a cross-sectional study.Rasaei N, Ghaffarian-Ensaf R, Shiraseb F, Fallah M, Gholami F, Clark CCT, Mirzaei K. Rasaei N, et al. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;23(1):176. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14501-1. BMC Public Health. 2023. PMID: 36698096 Free PMC article.
- Impact of Calorie-Restricted Cafeteria Diet and Treadmill Exercise on Sweet Taste in Diet-Induced Obese Female and Male Rats.Alvarez-Monell A, Subias-Gusils A, Mariné-Casadó R, Boqué N, Caimari A, Solanas M, Escorihuela RM. Alvarez-Monell A, et al. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 28;15(1):144. doi: 10.3390/nu15010144. Nutrients. 2022. PMID: 36615803 Free PMC article.
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Review
- Animals
- Behavior, Addictive / metabolism
- Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
- Brain / metabolism*
- Disease Models, Animal
- Eating / psychology*
- Feeding Behavior
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / metabolism
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / psychology*
- Humans
- Rats
- Self Administration / psychology
- Substance-Related Disorders / metabolism
- Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
- Sucrose / metabolism*
- Sucrose
- Full Text Sources
- Other Literature Sources
- Medical
NCBI Literature Resources
The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
![Figure 4](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2235907/bin/nihms36189f4.jpg)
Figure 5
Locomotor activity in a photocell…
Figure 5
Locomotor activity in a photocell cage plotted as percent of baseline beam breaks…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA receptor binding at the level of the striatum.…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to sugar release DA in response to drinking sucrose…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased to 81% of baseline after naloxone injection (3…
- Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence.Avena NM. Avena NM. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Oct;15(5):481-91. doi: 10.1037/1064-1297.15.5.481. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007. PMID: 17924782 Review.
- Animal models of sugar and fat bingeing: relationship to food addiction and increased body weight.Avena NM, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG. Avena NM, et al. Methods Mol Biol. 2012;829:351-65. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_23. Methods Mol Biol. 2012. PMID: 22231826
- Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell.Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Rada P, et al. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-44. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.04.043. Neuroscience. 2005. PMID: 15987666
- Sugar addiction: the state of the science.Westwater ML, Fletcher PC, Ziauddeen H. Westwater ML, et al. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Nov;55(Suppl 2):55-69. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1229-6. Epub 2016 Jul 2. Eur J Nutr. 2016. PMID: 27372453 Free PMC article. Review.
- Overlap of food addiction and substance use disorders definitions: analysis of animal and human studies.Hone-Blanchet A, Fecteau S. Hone-Blanchet A, et al. Neuropharmacology. 2014 Oct;85:81-90. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.019. Epub 2014 May 24. Neuropharmacology. 2014. PMID: 24863044 Review.
- Maternal Over- and Malnutrition and Increased Risk for Addictive and Eating Disorders in the Offspring.Guillaumin MCC, Peleg-Raibstein D. Guillaumin MCC, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 22;15(5):1095. doi: 10.3390/nu15051095. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36904093 Free PMC article. Review.
- The Impact of Free Sugar on Human Health-A Narrative Review.Gillespie KM, Kemps E, White MJ, Bartlett SE. Gillespie KM, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 10;15(4):889. doi: 10.3390/nu15040889. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36839247 Free PMC article. Review.
- Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Metabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents with Obesity: A Narrative Review.Calcaterra V, Cena H, Magenes VC, Vincenti A, Comola G, Beretta A, Di Napoli I, Zuccotti G. Calcaterra V, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 30;15(3):702. doi: 10.3390/nu15030702. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36771409 Free PMC article. Review.
- The association between healthy beverage index and quality of life among overweight and obese women: a cross-sectional study.Rasaei N, Ghaffarian-Ensaf R, Shiraseb F, Fallah M, Gholami F, Clark CCT, Mirzaei K. Rasaei N, et al. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;23(1):176. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14501-1. BMC Public Health. 2023. PMID: 36698096 Free PMC article.
- Impact of Calorie-Restricted Cafeteria Diet and Treadmill Exercise on Sweet Taste in Diet-Induced Obese Female and Male Rats.Alvarez-Monell A, Subias-Gusils A, Mariné-Casadó R, Boqué N, Caimari A, Solanas M, Escorihuela RM. Alvarez-Monell A, et al. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 28;15(1):144. doi: 10.3390/nu15010144. Nutrients. 2022. PMID: 36615803 Free PMC article.
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Review
- Animals
- Behavior, Addictive / metabolism
- Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
- Brain / metabolism*
- Disease Models, Animal
- Eating / psychology*
- Feeding Behavior
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / metabolism
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / psychology*
- Humans
- Rats
- Self Administration / psychology
- Substance-Related Disorders / metabolism
- Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
- Sucrose / metabolism*
- Sucrose
- Full Text Sources
- Other Literature Sources
- Medical
NCBI Literature Resources
The PubMed wordmark and PubMed logo are registered trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Unauthorized use of these marks is strictly prohibited.
National Library of Medicine
8600 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20894
![Figure 5](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/2235907/bin/nihms36189f5.jpg)
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA…
Figure 6
Intermittent sugar access alters DA receptor binding at the level of the striatum.…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to…
Figure 7
Rats with intermittent access to sugar release DA in response to drinking sucrose…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased…
Figure 8
Extracellular DA (upper graph) decreased to 81% of baseline after naloxone injection (3…
- Examining the addictive-like properties of binge eating using an animal model of sugar dependence.Avena NM. Avena NM. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007 Oct;15(5):481-91. doi: 10.1037/1064-1297.15.5.481. Exp Clin Psychopharmacol. 2007. PMID: 17924782 Review.
- Animal models of sugar and fat bingeing: relationship to food addiction and increased body weight.Avena NM, Bocarsly ME, Hoebel BG. Avena NM, et al. Methods Mol Biol. 2012;829:351-65. doi: 10.1007/978-1-61779-458-2_23. Methods Mol Biol. 2012. PMID: 22231826
- Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell.Rada P, Avena NM, Hoebel BG. Rada P, et al. Neuroscience. 2005;134(3):737-44. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2005.04.043. Neuroscience. 2005. PMID: 15987666
- Sugar addiction: the state of the science.Westwater ML, Fletcher PC, Ziauddeen H. Westwater ML, et al. Eur J Nutr. 2016 Nov;55(Suppl 2):55-69. doi: 10.1007/s00394-016-1229-6. Epub 2016 Jul 2. Eur J Nutr. 2016. PMID: 27372453 Free PMC article. Review.
- Overlap of food addiction and substance use disorders definitions: analysis of animal and human studies.Hone-Blanchet A, Fecteau S. Hone-Blanchet A, et al. Neuropharmacology. 2014 Oct;85:81-90. doi: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2014.05.019. Epub 2014 May 24. Neuropharmacology. 2014. PMID: 24863044 Review.
- Maternal Over- and Malnutrition and Increased Risk for Addictive and Eating Disorders in the Offspring.Guillaumin MCC, Peleg-Raibstein D. Guillaumin MCC, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 22;15(5):1095. doi: 10.3390/nu15051095. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36904093 Free PMC article. Review.
- The Impact of Free Sugar on Human Health-A Narrative Review.Gillespie KM, Kemps E, White MJ, Bartlett SE. Gillespie KM, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Feb 10;15(4):889. doi: 10.3390/nu15040889. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36839247 Free PMC article. Review.
- Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Metabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents with Obesity: A Narrative Review.Calcaterra V, Cena H, Magenes VC, Vincenti A, Comola G, Beretta A, Di Napoli I, Zuccotti G. Calcaterra V, et al. Nutrients. 2023 Jan 30;15(3):702. doi: 10.3390/nu15030702. Nutrients. 2023. PMID: 36771409 Free PMC article. Review.
- The association between healthy beverage index and quality of life among overweight and obese women: a cross-sectional study.Rasaei N, Ghaffarian-Ensaf R, Shiraseb F, Fallah M, Gholami F, Clark CCT, Mirzaei K. Rasaei N, et al. BMC Public Health. 2023 Jan 26;23(1):176. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14501-1. BMC Public Health. 2023. PMID: 36698096 Free PMC article.
- Impact of Calorie-Restricted Cafeteria Diet and Treadmill Exercise on Sweet Taste in Diet-Induced Obese Female and Male Rats.Alvarez-Monell A, Subias-Gusils A, Mariné-Casadó R, Boqué N, Caimari A, Solanas M, Escorihuela RM. Alvarez-Monell A, et al. Nutrients. 2022 Dec 28;15(1):144. doi: 10.3390/nu15010144. Nutrients. 2022. PMID: 36615803 Free PMC article.
- Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
- Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
- Review
- Animals
- Behavior, Addictive / metabolism
- Behavior, Addictive / psychology*
- Brain / metabolism*
- Disease Models, Animal
- Eating / psychology*
- Feeding Behavior
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / metabolism
- Feeding and Eating Disorders / psychology*
- Humans
- Rats
- Self Administration / psychology
- Substance-Related Disorders / metabolism
- Substance-Related Disorders / psychology*
- Sucrose / metabolism*
- Sucrose
- Full Text Sources
- Other Literature Sources
- Medical
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Source: PubMed