Lab rats can't get enough Oreo cookies. According to a study performed by Connecticut College, the popular cookie is as addictive to lab rats as cocaine or morphine.

The study, led by Professor Joseph Schroeder and his students, found an "an equally strong association between the pleasurable effects of eating Oreos and . . . as they did between cocaine or morphine . . ." the press release says.

"Our research supports the theory that high-fat/ high-sugar foods stimulate the brain in the same way that drugs do," Schroeder said. "It may explain why some people can't resist these foods . . ."

Apparently, Oreos activate more neurons in rats' "pleasure center" than cocaine or morphine.

Jamie Honohan, class of 2013, created the experiment.

"We chose Oreos not only because they are America's favorite cookie, and highly palatable to rats, but also because products containing high . . . fat and sugar are heavily marketed in communities with lower socioeconomic statuses," Honohan said.

The study placed rats with Oreos on one side of a maze, rats with rice cakes on another side and rats injected with shots of cocaine or morphine on the third. Then, the students compared how long the rats opted to stay on their side of the maze.

The Oreo-eating rats chose to "spend as much time on the 'drug side' of the maze as the rats conditioned with cocaine or morphine."

Equally as interesting is how the rats chose to eat their Oreos.

"They would break it open and eat the middle first," Honohan said.

Next month, the study will be presented at a Society for Neuroscience conference in San Diego Calif.

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