LOS ANGELES (CBS) — If you are one of millions of Southlanders who frequent tanning salons, a new study suggests you may actually become addicted to tanning.

A psychiatrist at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center recently studied the brain activity of people who tan frequently.

Researchers found tanning had a rewarding effect in the brain, which made some people feel compelled to tan repeatedly.

This may explain why some people still love tanning beds, even though they have been shown to raise the risk of melanoma.

The study was published in the journal Addiction Biology.