Researchers at the University of Michigan have found a “pleasure spot” in the brains of rats that may shed light on how food translates into pleasure for humans. The spot in rats’ brains makes sweet tastes more “liked” than other tastes. So now I know what’s going on when I am eating sweet Indian pastries :-p

Reference: Peciña, S. and Berridge, K.C. “Hedonic hot spot in nucleus accumbens shell: where do mu-opioids cause increased hedonic impact of sweetness?” in J. Neurosci., 25: 11777-11786 (2005). On Berridge’s web page, you can also view a cool video illustrating this subject.

• Neuroscience