Neuroscience’s Matt Howe seeks to better understand how ingredients interact with people's dopamine system
People who have difficulty controlling their food intake tend to overeat certain kinds of foods, such as doughnuts or chocolate, which can lead to obesity and other health-related issues. Their choices, despite popular generalization, might not actually be based on the way certain foods taste or how many calories they contain, according to a Virginia Tech researcher.
“Instead, we think problematic eating is related to the combination of ingredients in food and how they affect dopamine release, similar to the way that a drug’s abuse potential is directly related to its effect on dopamine release,” said Matt Howe, an assistant professor in the School of Neuroscience, part of the Virginia Tech College of Science.