AIM: Students were tasked with writing a Press Release of 500 words or less for one of the following research articles. These Press Releases are intended to convey the major findings of each article in an exciting and scientifically accurate way that would be both catchy and accessible to a general audience. We encourage comments and support at the end of each Press Release in the Comment box.
FOOD AND OBESITY Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell Original research article for the Press Release: Rada, P., Avena, N. M., & Hoebel, B. G. (2005). Daily bingeing on sugar repeatedly releases dopamine in the accumbens shell. Neuroscience. Press Releases: – From Synthetic Pills to Skittles Packets: Is Sugar a Drug Too? – Ananya Subrahmanian – This Is Your Mind on Dessert: How Bingeing on Sugar Changes Your Brain – Carli Poisson – Our Sweet Addiction – Emily Kessler – Cake and Cocaine: Not So Different After All? – Emma Halter – The Sweet Seduction of Sucrose: Sugar as a Drug – Kent Picou – Is Food Addiction Real? The Brain Says It Is – Sara Grundy – Addicted to Sugar: How Eating Sweets Compares to Drug Abuse – Sarah Banker – This Cake is Like Crack: Bingeing Daily on Sugary Foods Can Lead to Addiction – Susannah Clark Behavioral and neural valuation of foods is driven by implicit knowledge of caloric content Original research article for the Press Release: Tang, D. W., Fellows, L. K., & Dagher, A. (2014). Behavioral and neural valuation of foods is driven by implicit knowledge of caloric content. Psychological Science, 25(12), 2168–2176. Press Releases: – How Our Brains Are Programmed to Make Us Fat – Aida Julien – Put Your Calorie Counting Skills to the Test – Chrissy Gonzalez Gandolfi – Obesity: It’s All in Your Head – David Reinthal – Would You Like Fries with That? Why Calories Are Hard to Resist – Jamie Hom – Struggling to Lose Weight? Blame Your Brain! – Henry Kinder – Is Junk Food Fuel for Our Brains? – Maddie Bledsoe – Surprise! Your Brain Knows More About Calories than You Do. But Is It a Good Thing? – Ray Miao – Reading Between the Buns: The Truth Behind Big Mac Cravings – Sarah Swenson – The Subconscious Controls Your Food Choices – Vaan Taepaisitphongse Individual differences in cue-induced motivatoin and striatal systems in rats susceptible to diet-induced obesity Original research article for the Press Release: Robinson, M. J. F., Burghardt, P. R., Patterson, C. M., Nobile, C. W., Akil, H., Watson, S. J., et al. (2015). Individual Differences in Cue-Induced Motivation and Striatal Systems in Rats Susceptible to Diet-Induced Obesity. Neuropsychopharmacology, 40(9), 2113–2123. Press Releases: – Obesity: Is It You or Your Genes/Jeans? – Kathy Luong DRUG ADDICTION Modeling sensitization to stimulants in humans: An 11Craclopride/positron emission tomography study in healthy men Original research article for the Press Release: Boileau, I., Dagher, A., Leyton, M., Gunn, R. N., Baker, G. B., Diksic, M., & Benkelfat, C. (2006). Modeling sensitization to stimulants in humans: an [11C]raclopride/positron emission tomography study in healthy men. Archives of General Psychiatry, 63(12), 1386–1395. Press Releases: – The Slippery Slope of Drug Use – Rilwan Babajide Evidence for addiction-like behavior in the rat Original research article for the Press Release: Deroche-Gamonet, V., Belin, D., & Piazza, P. V. (2004). Evidence for addiction-like behavior in the rat. Science, 305(5686), 1014–1017. Press Releases: – Do All Drug Users Become Addicts? – Jordan Bell – When It’s Time to Send Your Rodent to Rehab: Scientists Diagnose Rats with Addiction – Rebecca Tom Amphetamine pretreatment accelerates the subsequent escalation of cocaine self-administration behavior Original research article for the Press Release: Ferrario, C. R., & Robinson, T. E. (2007). Amphetamine pretreatment accelerates the subsequent escalation of cocaine self-administration behavior. European Neuropsychopharmacology, 17(5), 352–357. Press Releases: – Brain Sensitivity and Addiction: The Danger of Socially Acceptable Drugs – Liana Mathias GAMBLING Priming memories of past wins induces risk seeking Original research article for the Press Release: Ludvig, E. A., Madan, C. R., & Spetch, M. L. (2014). Priming Memories of Past Wins Induces Risk Seeking. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(1), 24–29. Press Releases: – Remember When: How Cues May Be Influencing Your Decisions – Ariel Ben-Ezra – Can a Color Make You Gamble? – Charlie Gruner – Risky Business – Chris Ortega – WIN WIN WIN No Matter What: The Invincibility of Gambling – Jonah Toussaint – Memories: Promoting Risky Behavior – Lu Imbriano – Winning: Does It Make It Easier for Us to Risk It All – Ryan Flippin Gambling near-misses enhance motivation to gamble and recruit win-related brain circuitry Original research article for the Press Release: Clark, L., Lawrence, A. J., Astley-Jones, F., & Gray, N. (2009). Gambling Near-Misses Enhance Motivation to Gamble and Recruit Win-Related Brain Circuitry. Neuron, 61(3), 481–490. Press Releases: – This **** Is Bananas: Why You Keep Gambling After a Near Miss – Tess Litchman FLUID REGULATION Original research article for the Press Release: Robinson, M. J. F., & Berridge, K. C. (2013). Instant Transformation of Learned Repulsion into Motivational “Wanting”. Current Biology, 23(4), 282–289. Press Releases: * Quotes are fictitious and were created as an artistic tool to provide depth and meaning to the Press Release.