Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE

Food Addiction and Conditioned Taste Preference Ashley G. Bryant Queens College CUNY

Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE Food Addiction and Conditioned Taste Preference A pandemic of obesity began when modified produce was introduced in fast food chains such as McDonalds, Wendys, and Burger King. The food from these chains consisted highly of fat,

sugar, and salt. Food that is high in fat, sugar, and salt are considered palatable and food addicts have a conditioned preference to palatable flavors. This means that there is a correlation between taste preference and food addiction. An experiment that investigated the influence of taste preference on food addiction, was the study of how the effects of naltrexone (an opioid antagonist used for alcohol and drug dependence) influenced the flavor preference of rats which was conditioned by carbohydrate breakdown after ingestion (Azzara et al., 2000). The hypothesis of this study was that sugar taste preference is dependent on the rats internal opioid system. Another experiment that examined the effects of taste preference, researched how Dopamine D1 and D2 blockers reduced the flavor-preferences conditioned by the sweet taste of fructose in rats (Baker et al., 2003). The hypothesis of this experiment was that treatment of D1 and D2 antagonists would lessen the preference for saccharin flavored solutions, and that the control group would determine the effects of reduced intakes on flavor-preference learning. A third experiment that investigated taste preference was how opioid-receptor subtype antagonists (mu, kappa, delta) could alter sucrose intake in rats (Ruegg et al., 1996). The hypothesis of this experiment was that these opioid-receptor subtypes would alter the initiation or maintenance of sucrose intake. The purpose of this paper is to examine the experiments conducted by other researchers, and analyzing correlation between food addiction and conditioned taste preference from the results.

Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE Naltrexone Experiment (Methods) Procedure Twelve male rats were put in individual mesh-wire cages which contained a 12 hour light/dark cycle. The rats undertook surgery and were where inserted with IG tubes and were

anesthetized with a ketakine concoction. The rats had a silastic tube inserted into their stomachs and the tubes were secured with polypropylene mesh. The tube connected to a Luer-Lok assembly which was drilled into the rats skull with screws and cement which connected to a syringe pump (Azzara et al., 2000). Food restricted post-surgery rats drank and licked from spout tubes that were attached to the front of the cage, and one bottle contained a CS+ solution paired with intragastric infusions and the other contained CS- with water. The licking of the two bottles was observed by a microcomputer that activated the pump as the rat drank. The infusion rate was 1.3 ml per minute and the oral consumption was maintained by the microcomputer (Azzara et al., 2000). Results The rats consumed equal amounts of CS+ and CS- solutions during one-bottle training sessions. Overall, the rats drank significantly more CS+ than CS- and naltrexone reduced intake but, there were no significant intake differences between the naltrexone measures. There were no interaction between the dose given and CS flavor. CS+ intakes did not differ significantly among different dose levels. This overall data proposes that Naltrexone did subdue CS intake but, did not change preferences over CS+ to CS- solutions. This means that an effective opioid system is not necessary for the countenance of a conditioned taste preference in food restricted rats (Azzara et al., 2000).

Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE Dopamine D1 & D2 Experiment (Methods) Procedure Two weeks prior to the experiment male albino rats were food restricted which maintained 85-95% of their ad libitum level. The rats were put in individual mesh-wire cages which contained a 12 hour light/dark cycle with Purina cat chow and water at the rats disposal (Baker et al., 2003). During testing rats were examined during the dark cycle of the cage. Rats were given an 8% sugar solution with cherry or grape flavor was given, and a less preferred 0.2% saccharin solution containing a different flavor (CS-1) was administered too. Three groups of rats were treated with the saccharin and fructose solutions, one saccharin + fructose solution for D1 receptors, one saccharin + fructose solution for D2 receptors, and one group given a vehicle solution. Additional vehicle groups had their intake means corresponding to D1 and D2 groups.

Preferences for CS+ and CS- groups were presented in doses of 0, 50, 200, 400, and 800 (Baker et al., 2003). Results The D1 & D2 groups unsuccessful displayed to show preference in CS+ in the bottle tests after vehicle treatment. Treatment with D1 previous to the bottle tests blocked the preference for sugar-tasting in the control groups. However, D2 made the preference for CS+ less in pretesting and during the experiment and also for Saccharin. The results indicate that D1 & D2 antagonists block-flavor preference conditioned by sweet taste but, D2 affected preference more than D1 (Baker et al., 2003).

Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE Opioid Subtype Antagonist Experiment (Methods) Procedure Thirty five adult male albino rats were put in individual mesh-wire cages which contained a 12 hour light/dark cycle with Purina cat chow and water at the rats disposal. The rats were allowed one week to recover from surgery to allow full drug clearance. The rats were tested for

four days each week for sucrose intake. The rats were dehydrated for 24 hours and given for one hour a 10% sucrose solution. The rats were tested at two level of sucrose concentration (0.5% and 2.5%). To examine the sucrose intake before baseline conditions, the rats were tested three times at either 0.5% or 0.25% solution according to a a-b-b-a-a-b design (Ruegg et al., 1996). Results Delta, kappa, and mu opioid receptor subtype agonists significantly increased sucrose intake but, were distinctive in consistency and configuration due to the concentration of the sucrose. The mu, and D1 opioid antagonists enhanced sucrose consumption at a higher percent (2.5%, 10%) however, the D2 opioid antagonist increased sucrose consumption at a lower level (0.5% and 2.5%) (Ruegg et al., 1996). Kappa opioid antagonists had less consistency, kappa 1 produced an increased sucrose consumption (10%) and decreased sucrose intake at (0.5%), and the kappa 3 opioid antagonist increased sucrose consumption up to (0.5%) and (10%). The overall results find that the subtype antagonists used in the experiment mediate sucrose intake (Ruegg et al., 1996).

Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE

Discussion All of the experiments included in this paper included the use of antagonists/agonists and how it affects consumption and the preference for palatable food. The first experiment tested naltrexones effect on CS+ and CS- preferences, and found that it limited consumption but not preference. However, in contrast to the first experiment in this paper, the second experiment that used D1 and D2 receptors found the antagonists decreased preference but, not consumption. In the third article, the use of different opioid-receptor subtype agonists did mediate palatable intake but, was differently affected by the concentration of the sucrose beforehand. It is evident then from the previous experiments that antagonists and agonists can prevent food consumption or preference, and show that there is a correlation between food addiction and conditioned taste preference. The experiments are applicable to everyday situations with people such as checking a persons preference over sugar in coffee (sucrose) and preference for splenda, an artificial sweetener in coffee (saccharin) when treated with naltrexone. This can then branch off to examining how D1 and D2 antagonists affect the persons coffee intake if the coffee has actual sugar or an artificial sweetener in the solution. The results of this experiment should be replicated again by another group of researchers to check for consistency in the methodology of the experiments and the results it gives. However, based on the experiments pre-replicated results there is bright outlook that this can be applied to humans with food addiction or obesity and not just lab rats. For example, a future experiment that can come from this if the researchers have enough funding is studying how when people are administered naltrexone before eating their favorite meals at their favorite fast food place

Running Head: FOOD ADDICTION AND PREFERENCE (McDonalds, Wendys, Burger King etc) limited their consumption similarly to rats, or differentially lessened the preference for fatty foods. References

Azzara, A.V., Bodnar, R.J., Delamater, A.R., & Sclafani, A. (2000). Naltrexone fails to block the acquisition or expression of a flavor preference conditioned by intragastric carbohydrate infusions. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior (pp. 545-557). Baker, R.M., Shah, M.J., Sclafani, A., & Bodnar, R.J. (2003). Dopamine D1 and D2 antagonists reduce the acquisition and expression of flavor preferences conditioned by fructose in rats. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior (pp. 55-65). Ruegg, H., Yu, W., & Bodnar, R.J. (1996). Opioid-Receptor Subtype Agonist-Induced Enhancements of Sucrose Intake are Dependent Upon Sucrose Concentration. Physiology & Behavior (Vol. 62, No. 1, pp. 121-128).