Gene Associated with Binge Eating Discovered in Mice
Researchers at Boston University’s School of Medicine have identified a gene associated with binge eating in mice and “have found evidence that binge eating may alter the makeup of proteins in the brain,” according to a release from the University. Their findings were recently published in Biological Psychiatry.
The research used two strains of genetically similar laboratory mice that were known to perform differently “with respect to addiction to alcohol and psychostimulants.” The strains were bred with one another for two generations and the researchers recorded “which offspring demonstrated binge-eating behaviors” which allowed them “to spot a clear causal link between genetic inheritance and behavioral variation.”
“The behavioral difference was huge,” Camron D. Bryant, assistant professor of pharmacology and psychiatry whose Laboratory of Addiction Genetics conducted the study, said. “One of the strains escalated in how much they ate, and the other didn’t change at all.”
Read more about this study here.
