‘Drugs, Addiction and the Brain’ to be presented during Brain Awareness Week

March 17, 2009

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Some foods may be acquired tastes, but could the love of certain foods become an acquired disease?

A growing body of scientific evidence is confirming the theory that food can actually be addictive — especially great-tasting foods, according to Mark Gold, M.D., chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Florida College of Medicine and the McKnight Brain Institute.

Gold will give a special presentation, “Drugs, Addiction and the Brain,” from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 20 at the DeWeese Auditorium on the ground floor of the McKnight Brain Institute, 100 S. Newell Drive. Additionally, he will speak about secondhand exposure to medications and tobacco, as well as the groundbreaking brain research being done at UF and elsewhere on neural mechanisms of addiction and potential cures.

The presentation is part of Brain Awareness Week, which is being recognized worldwide from March 16 to 22 to increase public understanding of the human brain.

Gold’s work has changed the medical field’s understanding of how drugs of abuse — from tobacco to cocaine to narcotics — function in the human brain. He also has uncovered many similarities between addiction to drugs and overeating.

For more information about the presentation, call 352-294-0400.