Nature sub-journal: Food craving during pregnancy stems from dopamine secreted by the brain

While cravings for tasty food are a common feature of pregnancy and can lead to weight gain and even obesity, the neurobiological rationale remains unclear, in part because it is difficult to simulate this behavior in the laboratory

On April 4, 2022, researchers at the University of Barcelona in Spain published a research paper finding that vogadopaminergic circuits regulate food-craving-like episodes during pregnancy

This study in mice shows that food cravings during pregnancy are driven by dopamine signaling in the brain's reward system

The research team designed an experiment that could measure the type of food cravings in pregnant mice

The authors reveal that pregnancy affects brain connectivity, particularly components of the dopamine circuit, which is involved in the perception of reward stimuli and drives food-craving-like behaviors

Pups of pregnant mice who were allowed to have food-craving-like behaviors were also affected, gained weight compared to controls, and were more prone to anxiety-like behaviors and eating disorders as adults

Male mice were more likely to behave similarly than female mice, the study found

The journal Nature Metabolism also published a review article titled "Dopamine Drives Food Cravings During Pregnancy

New research shows that neurons expressing dopamine D2 receptors in the brain's reward system are key mediators of food cravings during pregnancy, the review notes, while stressing that further research is needed to determine which hormonal, nutritional and environmental factors are responsible for window of vulnerability during pregnancy and investigate whether human genetic diversity affects the brain's resilience or susceptibility to food craving aggression during pregnancy

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