Fig. 3.

Chronic stress alters dopamine and promotes consumption of palatable food: repeated stress exposures, including long-term physiological stresses related to diet-induced obesity, chronically up-regulate stress pathways to promote orexigenic neuropeptides, inflammation and hormonal resistance. This leads to dysregulation of dopamine and increased food intake, weight gain and anxio-depressive behaviours. However, consumption of palatable foods during stress activates the dopamine system and reduces metabolic and behavioural responsivity to stress, highlighting stress alleviative properties of palatable foods. Behavioural and pharmacological interventions which improve diet-induced alterations to inflammatory, hormonal, stress and dopamine systems may reduce craving, seeking and consumption of highly palatable foods for obese individuals attempting to lose weight.

CORT, corticosterone/cortisol; NPY, neuropeptide Y; AGRP, agouti-related peptide; POMC, pro-opiomelanocortin; D1R/D2R, dopamine type 1 or type 2 receptor; TH, tyrosine hydroxylase; KOR, κ-opioid receptor; CRF, corticotrophin-releasing factor; Δ, change.