You’re anxious to get your next high. You begin to get irritable. You need another hit, but you finished your box of Double Stuf Oreos an hour ago. Just breathe, relax and realize your anxiety is caused from the irrational need to have that delectable chocolate cookie sandwich which is understandable since Oreos are as addictive as crack. Well at least in lab rats. Connecticut College performed a study and found that Oreos are just as addictive as cocaine in rodents.
Neuroscience senior Jamie Honohan and two other students created a maze and one side they hungry rodents would find an Oreo and on the other side they would discover a rice cake. Shocker. The rats skipped the rice cakes and went directly to the Oreos. The researchers compared the results of their sweet study with a similar study where rats would get a shot of cocaine on one side and saline on the other. The feening mice overwhelmingly went for the coke. When they compared the analysis from both studies they found that the rats were spending just as much time on the Oreo side as the drug side. Plus data showed that the rats conditioned to eat Oreos had “activated significantly more neurons than cocaine or morphine.” So now there are little rat families who are torn apart because the dad rat got addicted to Oreos, sold the family car and is currently in rehab for the third time after relapsing after Birthday Cake Oreos and Candy Corn Oreos hit the open market.
Oreos are a hell of a drug.
[Gawker]
