Anna Castells Nobau receives the Best Abstract Award for pioneering research on food addiction
Anna Castells Nobau has been awarded the Best Abstract Award at the international conference The Barcelona Debates on the Human Microbiome, thanks to her innovative research titled “Microviridae bacteriophages influence behavioural hallmarks of food addiction via tryptophan and tyrosine signalling pathways.”
Her study delves into the role of the gut microbiota in food addiction, a condition that affects approximately 16% of the general population and shares neurological mechanisms with substance abuse disorders. In her research, Castells identified a virus from the Microviridae bacteriophage family — harmless to humans but capable of infecting gut bacteria — as a key factor in altering brain circuits related to dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward.
“We observed that the presence of this bacteriophage altered neural pathways related to dopamine — the very ones that modulate addictive behaviours toward food. Moreover, when we transferred the microbiota from individuals with food addiction — which contained this virus — to healthy mice, those mice also developed food addiction behaviours,” she explained.
The research also identified a compound capable of blocking the effects of the bacteriophage, thereby preventing changes in the brain and offering a potential protective mechanism against food addiction.
This study provides a new perspective on the biological mechanisms involved in food addiction and opens the door to potential therapeutic strategies based on microbiota modulation.