The Experiment:
Connecticut College conducted a study with rats where they were put in a maze and tested to see which side of the maze they would choose when they reached the end: the Oreo side or the rice cake side. They also did the same experiment with injections of saline or injections of cocaine. They used immunohistochemistry to measure the expression of a protein called c-Fos, a marker of neuronal activation, in the nucleus accumbens, or the brain’s “pleasure center.” The researchers found that “Oreos activated significantly more neurons” than cocaine.