Research
Hormonal
Short-term exposure to palatable food can permanently alter brain wiring (synaptic density) to increase future food seeking, a process that can be reversed by insulin signaling.
Eating highly palatable food can 'prime' your brain to want more for days. However, this effect is reversible. Maintaining metabolic health and insulin sensitivity can help 'unwire' these cravings, preventing a single indulgence from triggering a binge cycle.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
These results suggest that even short-term exposure to palatable foods can prime future feeding behavior by 'rewiring' VTA DA neurons.
Why this rating
Supported by specific optogenetic and electrophysiological studies in mice (Liu et al., 2016).
Source
Homeostasis Meets Motivation in the Battle to Control Food Intake
Carrie R. Ferrario et al. · Journal of Neuroscience · 2016
DOI 10.1523/jneurosci.2338-16.2016
narrative_reviewCited 214×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
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