---
title: "Psych News Alert: Food Pictures Switch on Brain's Reward Center and Appetite"
description: When 25 healthy young women were shown pictures of food, the extent to which their brains' reward-addiction center—the nucleus accumbens...
image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/binge%20eating%20woman_69534688-Jun-24-2025-07-43-47-9441-PM.jpg
---

 7/30/12 12:00 AM

# Food Pictures Switch on Brain's Reward Center and Appetite

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert)

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| [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/binge%20eating%20woman_69534688-Jun-24-2025-07-43-46-9266-PM.jpg?width=200&height=140&name=binge%20eating%20woman_69534688-Jun-24-2025-07-43-46-9266-PM.jpg)](https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/binge%20eating%20woman_69534688-Jun-24-2025-07-43-46-9266-PM.jpg) |  |
| --- | --- |

When 25 healthy young women were shown pictures of food, the extent to which their brains' reward-addiction center—the nucleus accumbens—responded predicted how much the women subsequently ate. The study was headed by Natalia Lawrence, Ph.D., of the University of Exeter in England. The results appeared July 6 in *Neuroimage.*

Other recent research in the area of eating disorders and their etiology has pointed to the possibility that some cases of obesity are due to a food addiction and may be linked to genetics. For more information on this theory, see *[Psychiatric News](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=108532).*

In fact, binge eating disorder (BED), which has been proposed as a diagnosis to be added to the next edition of APA's *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5),* might be considered a food addiction because a major criterion for it is loss of control over eating behavior. Yet how the mechanism of loss of control in BED compares with the loss of control in other addictions remains to be determined. To read more about this topic, see *[Psychiatric News](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsarticle.aspx?articleid=1170374).*

(Image: Tish1/Shutterstock,com)

[obesity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/obesity), [binge eating disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/binge-eating-disorder)

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[obesity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/obesity), [eating](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/eating), [binge eating disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/binge-eating-disorder), [self-control](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/self-control)

## [Self-Control Early in Life May Affect Adult Weight Issues](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/08/self-control-early-in-life-may-affect.html)

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 8/20/12 12:00 AM

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[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/binge-eating%20woman_2578678-4.jpg?height=200&name=binge-eating%20woman_2578678-4.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/11/opioid-receptor-antagonist-may-help.html)

[obesity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/obesity), [binge eating](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/binge-eating)

## [Opioid Receptor Antagonist May Help Binge Eaters](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/11/opioid-receptor-antagonist-may-help.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 11/16/12 12:00 AM

An opioid receptor antagonist reduces a preference for sweet, high-fat foods in binge eaters,...

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[![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/lisdexamfetamineLbottle-iStock-972352602-Jun-24-2025-05-09-16-0772-PM.jpg?height=200&name=lisdexamfetamineLbottle-iStock-972352602-Jun-24-2025-05-09-16-0772-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/cbt-plus-lisdexamfetamine-dramatically.html)

[obesity](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/obesity), [binge eating](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/binge-eating), [lisdexamfetamine](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/lisdexamfetamine), [eating disorder](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/eating-disorder), [cognitive-behavioral therapy](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cognitive-behavioral-therapy), [weight loss](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/weight-loss), [CBT](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cbt)

## [CBT Plus Lisdexamfetamine Dramatically Reduces Binge-Eating Episodes, AJP Study Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2024/12/cbt-plus-lisdexamfetamine-dramatically.html)

![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 

 12/12/24 12:00 AM

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