MIAMI (CBS4) – If you ever think I’m not making much sense, it may be that I’ve gone too long without eating junk food, although that’s not much of a problem during the holiday season when fatty and sugary treats are everywhere.

Joking aside, a new study in mice suggests that eating junk food can change the brain, spurring symptoms of anxiety and depression if you stop consuming it.

The University of Montreal researchers fed some mice a high-sugar, high-fat diet and found the changes in the brain kicked in even before the mice became obese.

That’s because once you get used to junk food, your brain launches you into a vicious cycle of bad eating.

The bad diet triggers biological changes similar to addiction.  A change from that diet then leads to withdrawal symptoms and greater sensitivity to stress and depression than mice who were fed a low-fat diet.

A separate study in the journal Neurology also found a relationship between having high blood amounts of trans fats and decreased performance on brain tests and smaller brain volume.

I had McDonald’s for lunch.  You can draw your own conclusions about my brain function.