Archived Seminar: Can Food Be Addictive?
Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar presented by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC
Can Food Be Addictive?
Date: Sept. 4, 2020
Time: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
Our food environment has changed drastically in the last 50 years. Highly processed (HP) foods that strongly activate reward and motivation systems have become cheap, easily accessible, and heavily marketed. Rising levels of overeating and difficulties controlling food intake have accompanied these changes to our food system. There is growing evidence from animal models and biobehavioral research in humans that HP foods may be capable of triggering neurobiological and psychological responses that parallel those associated with drugs of abuse. This has led to a growing interest in the role of addictive processes in certain types of eating pathology. In this talk, the evidence that addictive processes may be playing a role in certain types of pathological eating will be evaluated and treatment and policy implications adolescents will be discussed.
Additional Details
This is a free event hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and co-sponsored by the institute's Addiction Recovery Research Center and the Center for Transformative Research on Health Behaviors. The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Pioneers in Biomedical Research Program offers the expertise of a range of scientists who are exploring frontiers in biomedical research. These seminars are open to Virginia Tech and Carilion Clinic faculty, students, and staff.
You May Also Be Interested In...
-
General ItemVirtual Seminar: Reprogramming the Brain Cancer Stem Cell
March 5, 2021, 11 a.m. | John Laterra, M.D., Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series
-
General ItemVirtual Seminar: Effect of Contemporary Societal Exposures on Adolescent Behavioral Health
March 12, 2021, 11 a.m. | Adam Matthew Leventhal, Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series
-
General ItemVirtual Public Lecture: Genes Regulating Sleep and Circadian Rhythms
March 25, 2021, 5:30 p.m. | Michael Young, Ph.D. | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture **Awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine**
-
General ItemVirtual Seminar: The Epigenetic Basis of Memory Formation and Dysregulation in Memory Disorders
April 2, 2021, 11 a.m. | Farah Lubin, Ph.D. | Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series
-
General ItemVirtual Lecture: Title to be announced
April 2, 2021, 1 p.m. | Alain Dagher, M.D. | Timothy A. Johnson Medical Scholar Seminar Series

Ashley Gearhardt, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology, and Director of the Food Addiction Science and Treatment (FAST) Lab at the University of Michigan