NEW HAVEN, Conn. (CBS Connecticut) - A new study has found a connection between the consumption of fructose – a monosaccharide found in beverages such as sodas and in high fructose corn syrup – and the tendency to overeat.

Researchers at Yale University discovered that the brain reacts differently depending on whether a person has consumed fructose, known also as fruit sugar, or another type of sugar – glucose.

In their study, scientists observed fluctuations in blood flow to the hypothalamus region of the brain, which controls hunger and thirst, in 20 adult participants in good health, AZCentral.com is reporting.

When participants consumed glucose, they reportedly experienced spikes in the level of hormones which cause people to feel full. When fructose was consumed, however, the levels of the same hormones were noticeably lower.

“[T]his does not prove that fructose is the cause of the obesity epidemic,” Dr. Jonathan Purnell, who works at the Oregon Health & Science University, was quoted as saying in an editorial he co-authored to accompany the release of the study. “[It] only [means] that it is a possible contributor along with many other environmental and genetic factors.”

The study was published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association.