Nicole AvenaNobel Conference 61

Nicole Avena

Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Department of Neuroscience

Sugar Less: Conquer your addiction

In the early 2000s, the concept of "food addiction" was largely dismissed. Addiction research focused on traditional substances like cocaine, heroin, or alcohol, overlooking the possibility that a common, naturally occurring substance like sugar could have similar effects on the brain. Dr. Nicole Avena's early research directly challenged this view, showing that sugar could induce brain and behavioral changes mirroring the long-term biological effects of drugs of abuse. This meant sugar, like addictive drugs, could lead to bingeing, withdrawal, intense cravings, and measurable alterations in brain chemistry. Much like drug addiction, this wasn't just about a lack of willpower; it was about fundamental neurobiological processes.

Dr. Avena's research bridged the gap between addiction science and nutrition, forcing researchers, clinicians, and the public to rethink what constitutes an "addictive" substance. Her findings are foundational to a growing body of work demonstrating that sugar's effects on our behavior stem from basic neural mechanisms that have evolved over millennia. These mechanisms were not built for a modern food environment saturated with highly palatable, sugar-laden options. Therefore, it's perhaps no surprise that Dr. Avena’s findings have profound implications for public health, influencing everything from dietary guidelines to strategies for preventing and treating eating disorders.

Throughout her career, Dr. Avena has been a prolific and influential voice, authoring scholarly articles and impactful, best-selling books on sugar addiction and nutrition. Her work aims to provide individuals with practical strategies to navigate a sugar-saturated world. Beyond her writing, Dr. Avena frequently speaks at events, sharing research findings on nutrition and offering evidence-based guidance for building healthy eating habits. She also consults with external groups focused on the neuroscience of eating behaviors.

Dr. Avena received her Ph.D. in Neuroscience and Psychology from Princeton University, where she is currently a VIsiting Professor of Health Psychology. Dr. Avena is also an Associate Professor of Neuroscience at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai where she continues her groundbreaking research on nutrition, diet, and addiction. Her current work focuses on the critical role of nutrition during early life and pregnancy.

Her Talk: The concept of food addiction has garnered increasing scientific interest, particularly in the context of how sugar-rich foods engage neural circuits implicated in reward, motivation, and addiction. Unlike traditional models of obesity that focus on caloric surplus and metabolic imbalance, recent neuroscientific findings indicate that excessive and repeated consumption of sugar can produce neuroadaptive changes that mirror those seen in substance use disorders. This presentation synthesizes current evidence from neuroimaging, behavioral, and clinical studies that investigate the addictive potential of sugar.