Junk food is like crack cocaine in at least one respect: It primes the brain to want more.
That’s the upshot of new research by Canadian scientists who have found eating high-fat sweets causes chemical changes in the brain that lead to more cravings for such foods.

The study, by researchers from the University of Calgary and the University of British Columbia, involved laboratory mice, but has significant implications for people, too, Medical Xpress reports.

“These results suggest that even a short-term exposure to palatable foods can drive future feeding behavior by ‘rewiring’ [the brain]” the researchers reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

To reach their conclusions, researchers studied the brain activity of mice fed sweetened high-fat foods and found they experienced significant changes in dopamine neurons — linked to pleasurable sensations and reward-seeking behaviors.

In other words, the food-related changes in brain chemistry created strong cravings for other foods they found to be rewarding.