We analyzed changes in the activity of individually identifiable neurons involved in the networks underlying feeding and withdrawal behaviors in snails before, during, and after aversive learning in vitro. Responses to food in the "reinforcing" serotonergic neurons involved in withdrawal changed significantly after training, implying that these serotonergic cells participate in the reactivation...

Opioid withdrawal causes a dysphoric state that can lead to complications in pain patients and can propagate use in drug abusers and addicts. Opioid withdrawal changes the activity of neurons in the nucleus accumbens, an area rich in both opioid-binding mu opioid receptors and glutamate-binding NMDA receptors. Because the accumbens is an area important for reward and aversion, plastic changes i...

Background: Food addiction has been defined as consuming palatable foods leading to addictive-like behaviors. Little studies have assayed food addiction in children and adolescents. Thus, we aimed at identifying the prevalence of food addiction and the relationship between food addiction, sociodemographic and anthropometric indicators among children and adolescents in southwestern Iran.  ...

The present study characterized nicotine intake, circadian patterns of food and water intake, precipitated somatic signs of withdrawal, and extinction of nicotine-seeking behavior in rats with 23-h access to intravenous self-administration (IVSA). Separate groups of animals were allowed access to nicotine IVSA (0.015, n = 9; 0.03, n = 14; 0.06, n = 16; mg/kg/0.1 ml infusion/s; fixed ratio 1) an...

The evidence for food's addictive properties is steadily growing. In addition to clinical and evolutionary plausibility, the possibility of addiction to food is supported by animal model research and increasingly by research with humans. Much as classic drugs of abuse "hijack" the brain, accumulating evidence with food suggests a similar impact, but with weaker effects. Although neurobiological...

While the SCN controls the circadian clock, further evidence suggests the existence of a food-entrainable oscillator (FEO) that links behavior to changes in food availability such as during restricted feeding (RF). We found that the activity of AgRP/NPY neurons changed rhythmically during RF suggesting that these neurons are a component of the FEO. We next ablated AgRP/NPY neurons in neonates w...

Introduction: There are three synthetic hormones approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) for growth promotion in cattle and sheep raised for meat production: the estrogenic compound zeranol, the anabolic steroid trenbolone acetate (TBA), and the progestin melengestrol acetate (MGA). The FDA approves and regulates the use of hormone implants, establishing tolerance levels (m...

Since early 2000, Malaysian food-export industries have recognised the demand for food compliant with Islamic dietary law (halal), with primary consumer choices based on quality and safety. The lack of documented monitoring for health hazards and haram substances led to the withdrawal of certification. The HACCP-based halal quality-assurance standards were developed as a result, using the HACCP...

The withdrawal of the cyclooxygenase (COX)-2–specific inhibitor rofecoxib (Vioxx; Merck) has generated a high-profile debate in the medical and lay press over when a signal suggesting the potential for harm from this drug was first apparent and what steps the medical community, the US Food and Drug Administration, and the pharmaceutical sponsor took and should have taken to address this issue.1...