Low-calorie Food Cues Research Articles

Attentional bias for high-calorie food cues by the level of hunger and satiety in individuals with binge eating behaviors.

The abnormal hyperreactivity to food cues in individuals with binge eating behaviors could be regulated by hedonic or reward-based system, overriding the homeostatic system. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether attentional bias for food cues is affected by the level of hunger, maintaining the normal homeostatic system in individuals with binge eating behaviors. A total of 116 female participants were recruited and divided into four groups: hungry-binge eating group (BE) (n = 29), satiated BE (n = 29), hungry-control (n = 29), satiated control (n = 29). While participants completed a free-viewing task on high or low-calorie food cues, visual attentional processes were recorded using an eye tracker. The results revealed that BE group showed longer initial fixation duration toward high-calorie food cues in both hunger and satiety condition in the early stage, whereas the control group showed longer initial fixation duration toward high-calorie food cues only in hunger conditions. Moreover, in the late stage, the BE group stared more at the high-calorie food cue, compared to control group regardless of hunger and satiety. The findings suggest that automatic attentional bias for food cues in individuals with binge eating behaviors occurred without purpose or awareness is not affected by the homeostatic system, while strategic attention is focused on high-calorie food. Therefore, the attentional processing of food cues in binge eating group is regulated by hedonic system rather than homeostatic system, leading to vulnerability to binge eating.

Changes in brain response to high and low-calorie food cues pre to post rygb and sleeve gastrectomy (sg)

Changes in brain response to high and low-calorie food cues pre to post rygb and sleeve gastrectomy (sg)

Impaired Brain Satiety Responses After Weight Loss in Children With Obesity.

ContextObesity interventions often result in increased motivation to eat.ObjectiveWe investigated relationships between obesity outcomes and changes in brain activation by visual food cues and hormone levels in response to obesity intervention by family-based behavioral treatment (FBT).MethodsNeuroimaging and hormone assessments were conducted before and after 24-week FBT intervention in children with obesity (OB, n = 28), or children of healthy weight without intervention (HW, n = 17), all 9- to 11-year-old boys and girls. We evaluated meal-induced changes in neural activation to high- vs low-calorie food cues across appetite-processing brain regions and gut hormones.ResultsAmong children with OB who underwent FBT, greater declines of BMI z-score were associated with lesser reductions after the FBT intervention in meal-induced changes in neural activation to high- vs low-calorie food cues across appetite-processing brain regions (P < 0.05), and the slope of relationship was significantly different compared with children of HW. In children with OB, less reduction in brain responses to a meal from before to after FBT was associated with greater meal-induced reduction in ghrelin and increased meal-induced stimulation in peptide YY and glucagon-like peptide-1 (all P < 0.05).ConclusionIn response to FBT, adaptations of central satiety responses and peripheral satiety-regulating hormones were noted. After weight loss, changes of peripheral hormone secretion support weight loss, but there was a weaker central satiety response. The findings suggest that even when peripheral satiety responses by gut hormones are intact, the central regulation of satiety is disturbed in children with OB who significantly improve their weight status during FBT, which could favor future weight regain.

Brain Activation in Response to Low-Calorie Food Pictures: An Explorative Analysis of a Randomized Trial With Dapagliflozin and Exenatide.

Background and AimSodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitors (SGLT2i) induce less weight loss than expected. This may be explained by SGLT2i-induced alterations in central reward and satiety circuits, contributing to increased appetite and food intake. This hyperphagia may be specific to high-calorie foods. Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RA) are associated with lower preferences for high-calorie foods, and with decreased activation in areas regulating satiety and reward in response to high-calorie food pictures, which may reflect this lower preference for energy-dense foods. To optimize treatment, we need a better understanding of how intake is controlled, and how [(un)healthy] food choices are made. The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of dapagliflozin, exenatide, and their combination on brain activation in response to low-calorie food pictures.MethodsWe performed an exploratory analysis of a larger, 16-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Sixty-eight subjects with obesity and type 2 diabetes were randomized to dapagliflozin, exenatide, dapagliflozin plus exenatide, or double placebo. Using functional MRI, the effects of treatments on brain responses to low-calorie food pictures were assessed after 10 days and 16 weeks.ResultsDapagliflozin versus placebo decreased activity in response to low-calorie food pictures, in the caudate nucleus, insula, and amygdala after 10 days, and in the insula after 16 weeks. Exenatide versus placebo increased activation in the putamen in response to low-calorie food pictures after 10 days, but not after 16 weeks. Dapagliflozin plus exenatide versus placebo had no effect on brain responses, but after 10 days dapagliflozin plus exenatide versus dapagliflozin increased activity in the insula and amygdala in response to low-calorie food pictures.ConclusionDapagliflozin decreased activation in response to low-calorie food pictures, which may reflect a specific decreased preference for low-calorie foods, in combination with the previously found increased activation in response to high-calorie foods, which may reflect a specific preference for high-calorie foods, and may hamper SGLT2i-induced weight loss. Exenatide treatment increased activation in response to low-calorie foods. Combination treatment may lead to more favorable brain responses to low-calorie food cues, as we observed that the dapagliflozin-induced decreased response to low-calorie food pictures had disappeared.

Sadness-associated eating styles and visual food cue reactivity: An eye-tracking investigation

BackgroundEmotional eating has been associated with biases of attention and memory for visual food cues. This eye-tracking study investigated whether the tendency to overeat in response to sadness is associated with the inspection and recall of visual food cues. MethodParticipants (n = 115, mean age = 26 years, 70 females, 45 males) viewed images depicting food and non-food. We compared gaze duration, ‘hyperscanning’ parameters (fixation duration, saccadic angle, scan path length), and recall performance between different image categories (high-calorie, low-calorie food, non-food) and groups with different sadness-associated eating styles (increased, decreased, unchanged food consumption during states of sadness). ResultsThe group with sadness-related overeating reported a higher body mass index than the other groups, but neither displayed a visual attention bias nor memory bias for food cues. We observed a prolonged gaze duration for low-calorie food cues, which were rated as more appetizing than high-calorie cues. All participants recalled more food cues (low- and high-calorie) than non-food cues independent of gaze duration. ConclusionThis study expanded previous research designs by groups that decrease vs. increase the amount eaten when feeling sad, and food/non-food images that were carefully matched for visual properties. Based on this approach, we were not able to show that self-disclosed sadness eating is associated with visual/memory biases for food images.

Developmental Changes in Food Perception and Preference.

Food choices are a key determinant of dietary intake, with brain regions, such as the mesolimbic and prefrontal cortex maturing at differential rates into adulthood. More needs to be understood about developmental changes in healthy and unhealthy food perceptions and preference. We investigated how food perceptions and preference vary as a function of age and how food attributes (taste and health) impact age-related changes. One hundred thirty-nine participants (8–23 years, 60 females) completed computerized tasks to rate high-calorie and low-calorie food cues for taste, health, and liking (preference), followed by 100 binary food choices based on each participant’s ratings. Dietary self-control was considered successful when the healthier (vs. tastier) food was chosen. Self-control success ratio was the proportion of success trials over total number of choices. Beta-weights for health (β-health) and taste (β-taste) were calculated as each attribute’s influence on food preference. Adiposity measurements included BMI z-score and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). High-calorie foods were rated more tasty and less healthy with increasing age. Older participants liked high-calorie foods more (vs. younger participants), and β-taste was associated with age. Significant age-by-WHtR interactions were observed for health and taste ratings of high-calorie foods, β-taste, and marginally for preference of high-calorie foods. Stratifying by WHtR (high, low), we found age-related increases in taste and preference ratings of high-calorie foods in the high WHtR group alone. In contrast, age-related decreases in health ratings of high-calorie foods were significant in the low WHtR group alone. Age and β-taste were significantly associated in the high WHtR group and only marginally significant with low WHtR. Although participants rated low-calorie foods as less tasty and less healthy with increasing age, there was no association between age and preference for low-calorie foods. Participants made faster food choices with increasing age regardless of WHtR, with a significant age-by-WHtR interaction on reaction time (RT). There were no age-related effects in self-control success ratio and β-health. These results suggest that individual differences in age and central adiposity play an important role in preference for high-calorie foods, and a higher importance of food tastiness in food choice may contribute to greater preference for high-calorie foods with increasing age.

Food Perception and Differences in Dietary Decision-Making in Youth With Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia

Background: Youth with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) have a higher prevalence of obesity, early adiposity rebound, and increased fat mass. Unsuccessful dietary self-control could contribute to obesity, and understanding food-seeking behavior could therefore guide prevention. Dietary decision-making involves key brain regions such as the limbic system and the prefrontal cortex, which are associated with choice and reward. These regions (i.e., prefrontal cortex, amygdala, hippocampus) can be smaller in volume in CAH patients. However, little is known about dietary decision-making in CAH. We hypothesized that CAH youth would exhibit differences in dietary decision-making and aimed to study food choices in CAH youth compared to controls.Methods: 37 CAH youth (12.2 ± 3.1 y, 60% male, BMIz 1.6 ± 0.8) and 100 controls (11.7 ± 2.4 y, 57% male, BMIz 0.9 ± 1.2) completed a behavioral computer-based food choice task. They rated 30 high- and 30 low-calorie food cues for tastiness, healthiness, and liking. Food pairs discordant for taste and health ratings were generated, and youth were asked to choose the item they wanted to eat. Cursor-trajectory analyses measured area under the curve (AUC) and maximum deviation time (MDT), with successful choice trials evident when the healthier food was chosen. Based on individual ratings for food cues, β-coefficients for ratings predicting food preference were generated.Results: CAH youth and controls did not show differences in food ratings (P > 0.30 for all) or in the percentage of successful trials of total choice trials (P = 0.16). However, CAH youth showed larger mean AUCs compared to controls [T(135) = 2.15; P = 0.03] suggesting that they may experience more conflict and exert more cognitive effort in decision-making. CAH youth also had longer mean MDTs [T(102.3) = 2.59; P = 0.01] in successful choice trials, indicating a later time at which a final decision was made. β-health and β-taste predicting food preference did not differ between groups, and β-health was correlated with successful choice trials in both CAH (r = 0.38, P = 0.02) and controls (r = 0.48, P < 0.01). However, β-taste was negatively correlated with successful choice trials in controls only (r = -0.42, P < 0.01; CAH r = -0.22, P = 0.18).Conclusion: Although youth with and without CAH had similar perceptions of food, CAH youth may exert greater cognitive effort and experience more conflict in dietary decision-making. This could suggest that factors inherent to CAH such as abnormal neural pathways, or disease treatment, could affect the cognitive control of food choices in CAH youth.

Automatic attentional bias toward high-calorie food cues and body shape concerns in individuals with a high level of weight suppression: Preliminary findings

This study aimed to investigate differences in attentional processes in response to food cues and body shape concerns according to an individual's level of weight suppression. Among 470 women in their 20s, nonobese participants (body mass index [BMI] <25 kg/m2) were divided into two groups according to weight history. If the difference between their highest weight ever and current weight was greater than 10%, they were assigned to the high level of weight suppression (H-WS) group (n = 24); if it was less than 5%, they were assigned to the low level of weight suppression (L-WS) group (n = 29). Self-reported body shape concerns and bulimia nervosa symptoms were assessed. Visual attentional processes were recorded using an eye tracker while participants completed a free-viewing task composed of pairs of high- and low-calorie food cues. After controlling for current BMI, the H-WS group reported higher body shape concerns and higher levels of bulimia nervosa symptoms than did the L-WS group. In the free-viewing task, after controlling for current BMI, body shape concerns, and bulimia nervosa symptoms, the H-WS group had a significantly longer dwell time for high-calorie compared with low-calorie food cues than did the L-WS group, and this difference was observed for the first 1000 ms. Compared with individuals with low weight suppression, the vulnerability to bulimia nervosa symptoms observed in individuals with high weight suppression may be associated with a higher automatic approach tendency toward high-calorie foods after adjusting for body shape concerns.

Exposure to Written Content Eliciting Weight Stigmatization: Neural Control of Appetite and Food Reward

Abstract Objectives Weight bias occurs due to environmental cues, and beyond impacting a person's perception, may have direct physiological effects. Here, fMRI was used to investigate whether exposure to written weight stigmatization content influenced the neural control of appetite and food reward in response to high-calorie (HC), low-calorie (LC) and non-food (NF) images. Relationships were assessed between neural activation, blood glucose, age, body weight, eating behavior (assessed by TFEQ), and subjective pleasantness ratings of food pictures. Methods Overweight/obese individuals were randomized to read either a weight stigma (WS) or control (CT) article, and subsequently underwent brain scans while they rated (via button press) pleasantness of food pictures. Fasting glucose concentrations and TFEQ were measured before reading the article (prior to scanning) and glucose was repeated post-scanning. Results No differences were observed in age or BMI between subjects who read the WS article (6 men, 12 women; mean ± SD, 35.2 ± 13.1y; BMI 30.5 ± 3.0) and CT article (3 men, 15 women, 35.4 ± 11.3y, BMI 30.0 ± 3.3). Whole brain fMRI analysis revealed significant group differences in activation to HC &amp;gt; LC food cues in the following regions: left insula, left thalamus, left inferior occipital gyrus (IOG), right lingual gyrus (LG), and right middle occipital gyrus (P &amp;lt; 0.005 for all). Significant group differences in overall activation to food cues (HC + LC &amp;gt; NF) were observed in the right superior medial gyrus. A significant negative correlation was found between activation in the left IOG and both age (r = −0.38, P = 0.023) and pre-scan glucose concentrations (r = −0.40, P = 0.015). Furthermore, activation in the right LG was positively related to pleasantness ratings for HC foods (r = 0.34, P = 0.040). No significant relationships were observed between activation in any brain region and eating behavior by TFEQ. Conclusions Both younger age and lower fasting glucose concentrations were associated with higher activation in a visual attention region in response to HC foods. Exposure to WS content is associated with increased HC food-related activation in several brain areas implicated in food reward, motivation, attention, and visual memory. WS may increase body weight by increasing motivation for HC food consumption. Funding Sources University of Missouri Brain Imaging Center Type II grant.

Reduced plasma ghrelin concentrations are associated with decreased brain reactivity to food cues after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy

The “hunger” hormone ghrelin regulates food-intake and preference for high-calorie (HC) food through modulation of the mesocortico-limbic dopaminergic pathway. Laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG) is an effective bariatric surgery to treat morbid obesity. We tested the hypothesis that LSG-induced reductions in appetite and total ghrelin levels in blood are associated with reduced prefrontal brain reactivity to food cues. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) cue-reactivity task with HC and low-calorie (LC) food pictures was used to investigate brain reactivity in 22 obese participants tested before and one month after bariatric surgery (BS). Nineteen obese controls (Ctr) without surgery were also tested at baseline and one-month later. LSG significantly decreased (1) fasting plasma concentrations of total ghrelin, leptin and insulin, (2) craving for HC food, and (3) brain activation in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in response to HC vs. LC food cues (PFWE < 0.05). LSG-induced reduction in DLPFC activation to food cues were positively correlated with reduction in ghrelin levels and reduction in craving ratings for food. Psychophysiological interaction (PPI) connectivity analyses showed that the right DLPFC had stronger connectivity with the ventral anterior cingulate cortex (vACC) after LSG, and changes in BMI were negatively correlated with changes in connectivity between the right DLPFC and vACC in the LSG group only. These findings suggest that LSG-induced weight-loss may be related to reductions in ghrelin, possibly leading to decreased food craving and hypothetically reducing DLPFC response to the HC food cues.

How eating behavior, food stimuli and gender may affect visual attention – An eye tracking study

The aim of the current study was to examine how different patterns of eating behavior and visual attention to different food cues are related to each other while taken gender into account. The German version of the DEBQ was used to examine three eating behavior patterns (restrained, emotional and external eating) and mobile eye tracking technology was used to measure visual attention to different food cues in an experimental setting. Results showed a strong evidence for the influence of restrained eating behavior on visual attention. Furthermore, men who exhibited higher levels of restrained eating behavior also showed higher attention towards low calorie food cues. Emotional eating seemed to be linked to visual attention in women. Women with higher levels of emotional eating also manifested higher visual attention to food cues, as measured by fixations per dwell. The current study adds to the literature on the relation between eating behavior and visual attention by highlighting potential gender differences.

The influence of the arrangement of different food images on participants’ attention: An experimental eye-tracking study

People are exposed to many food stimuli every day, which impacts purchase as well as dietary behavior. Substantial research has been conducted in the area of visual attention to different food cues to better understand coherences in visual attention to food stimuli, linked cognitive processes and decision making. However, the possible influence of the presentation of different types of food cues has often been ignored.The main aim of the study was to address the effect of different types of food stimuli varying in calories and convenience onto visual attention. Participants (N=50) were invited in a free exploration task to view a series of food pictures displayed on the wall via a projector while wearing a mobile eye-tracking device. A sequence of 30 picture trials was presented for 3000ms showing a random side-by-side presentation of high and low calorie food pictures. Eye movements were recorded at 50Hz. Attention was measured by fixation duration, fixation counts, and visit counts. T-tests and repeated measures ANOVAs were used to compare the different types of food stimuli presented.The results showed that especially cut up, ready-to-eat low calorie food tended to arouse people’s visual attention compared to unprepared low calorie food and both savory and sweet high calorie food. Furthermore, men paid more attention to high calorie and women more attention to low calorie food cues. The findings suggest that people’s attention varies depending on the type of food stimuli presented. Men and women appear to focus their attention on different types of food stimuli. Implications can be seen for food marketing and health care promotion campaigns.

Stimulus Control Over Action for Food in Obese versus Healthy-weight Individuals

In the current study we examined an associative learning mechanism by which food cues (signaling low- versus high-calorie food) can bias instrumental responses directed toward those foods. To investigate the clinical relevance of this mechanism, we used a computerized Pavlovian-to-instrumental transfer task and compared performance of 19 severely obese individuals to that of 19 healthy-weight controls matched for age, education and gender. During the response-priming test we exposed participants to both food pictures and to Pavlovian cues predictive of those food pictures, and examined their biasing effect on instrumental choice. As expected, obese participants showed higher priming rates for palatable, high-calorie foods (potato chips and chocolate) relative to low-calorie foods (lettuce and courgette) whereas healthy-weight individuals did not show a difference between priming rates for these two food types. We also included various measures of impulsivity as well as a slips-of-action task designed to investigate the balance between goal-directed and habitual behavioral control in these two groups. We did not find any evidence of increased impulsivity or reliance on a habitual strategy during the slips-of-action task, in obese participants.General Scientific Summary: Our environment is full of cues signaling the availability of tasty, but often unhealthy, foods. This study suggests that severely obese individuals are particularly sensitive to high-calorie food cues whereas low-calorie food cues have little effect on their behavior.

Explicit and implicit approach vs. avoidance tendencies towards high vs. low calorie food cues in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy controls

Patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) have a strong ability to limit food intake. Thus, dysfunctional approach vs. avoidance behaviors towards food are evident in AN.We applied an approach-avoidance task (AAT), in which n = 41 AN patients and n = 42 controls either approached (“pull”) or avoided (“push”) high (HC) vs. low calorie (LC) food pictures based solely on the presented picture format (landscape vs. portrait). We tested the hypothesis that -in opposition to controls displaying an approach bias towards HC food cues- AN patients would show an avoidance bias (measured as different response times) towards HC food. Explicit ratings of food cues were also performed.We found a significant interaction “group” x “direction” (p = 0.03). rm-ANOVAs performed for each of the two groups separately showed a main effect for “direction” of motion in controls (p = 0.02), but not in AN patients (p = 0.40). The two groups did not differ in their reaction times (RTs) with regard to “push” (p = 0.27). However, RTs with regard to “pull” were significantly different between the groups (p = 0.04).Controls show a clear approach bias, expressed by significantly faster RTs for “pull” compared to “push”, independent of “calorie” content of the food stimuli. This approach bias is absent in the group of AN patients. This is indicative of a global loss of incentive value of food in AN. Implicit trainings as add-on to psychotherapy in AN patients are asked for.

Attentional bias toward high-calorie food-cues and trait motor impulsivity interactively predict weight gain.

Strong bottom-up impulses and weak top-down control may interactively lead to overeating and, consequently, weight gain. In the present study, female university freshmen were tested at the start of the first semester and again at the start of the second semester. Attentional bias toward high- or low-calorie food-cues was assessed using a dot-probe paradigm and participants completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale. Attentional bias and motor impulsivity interactively predicted change in body mass index: motor impulsivity positively predicted weight gain only when participants showed an attentional bias toward high-calorie food-cues. Attentional and non-planning impulsivity were unrelated to weight change. Results support findings showing that weight gain is prospectively predicted by a combination of weak top-down control (i.e. high impulsivity) and strong bottom-up impulses (i.e. high automatic motivational drive toward high-calorie food stimuli). They also highlight the fact that only specific aspects of impulsivity are relevant in eating and weight regulation.

Poor ability to resist tempting calorie rich food is linked to altered balance between neural systems involved in urge and self-control.

BackgroundThe loss of self-control or inability to resist tempting/rewarding foods, and the development of less healthful eating habits may be explained by three key neural systems: (1) a hyper-functioning striatum system driven by external rewarding cues; (2) a hypo-functioning decision-making and impulse control system; and (3) an altered insula system involved in the translation of homeostatic and interoceptive signals into self-awareness and what may be subjectively experienced as a feeling.MethodsThe present study examined the activity within two of these neural systems when subjects were exposed to images of high-calorie versus low-calorie foods using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and related this activity to dietary intake, assessed by 24-hour recall. Thirty youth (mean BMI = 23.1 kg/m2, range = 19.1 - 33.7; age =19.7 years, range = 14 - 22) were scanned using fMRI while performing food-specific go/nogo tasks.ResultsBehaviorally, participants more readily pressed a response button when go trials consisted of high-calorie food cues (HGo task) and less readily pressed the response button when go trials consisted of low-calorie food cues (LGo task). This habitual response to high-calorie food cues was greater for individuals with higher BMI and individuals who reportedly consume more high-calorie foods. Response inhibition to the high-calorie food cues was most difficult for individuals with a higher BMI and individuals who reportedly consume more high-calorie foods. fMRI results confirmed our hypotheses that (1) the "habitual" system (right striatum) was more activated in response to high-calorie food cues during the go trials than low-calorie food go trials, and its activity correlated with participants’ BMI, as well as their consumption of high-calorie foods; (2) the prefrontal system was more active in nogo trials than go trials, and this activity was inversely correlated with BMI and high-calorie food consumption.ConclusionsUsing a cross-sectional design, our findings help increase understanding of the neural basis of one’s loss of ability to self-control when faced with tempting food cues. Though the design does not permit inferences regarding whether the inhibitory control deficits and hyper-responsivity of reward regions are individual vulnerability factors for overeating, or the results of habitual overeating.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1475-2891-13-92) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pilot randomized trial demonstrating reversal of obesity-related abnormalities in reward system responsivity to food cues with a behavioral intervention.

Objectives:Obesity is associated with hyperactivation of the reward system for high-calorie (HC) versus low-calorie (LC) food cues, which encourages unhealthy food selection and overeating. However, the extent to which this hyperactivation can be reversed is uncertain, and to date there has been no demonstration of changes by behavioral intervention.Subjects and methods:We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure changes in activation of the striatum for food images at baseline and 6 months in a pilot study of 13 overweight or obese adults randomized to a control group or a novel weight-loss intervention.Results:Compared to controls, intervention participants achieved significant weight loss (−6.3±1.0 kg versus +2.1±1.1 kg, P<0.001) and had increased activation for LC food images with a composition consistent with that recommended in the behavioral intervention at 6 months versus baseline in the right ventral putamen (P=0.04), decreased activation for HC images of typically consumed foods in the left dorsal putamen (P=0.01). There was also a large significant shift in relative activation favoring LC versus HC foods in both regions (P<0.04).Conclusions:This study provides the first demonstration of a positive shift in activation of the reward system toward healthy versus unhealthy food cues in a behavioral intervention, suggesting new avenues to enhance behavioral treatments of obesity.

Neural Correlates to Food-Related Behavior in Normal-Weight and Overweight/Obese Participants

Two thirds of US adults are either obese or overweight and this rate is rising. Although the etiology of obesity is not yet fully understood, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the central nervous system has a principal role in regulating eating behavior. In this study, functional magnetic resonance imaging and survey data were evaluated for correlations between food-related problem behaviors and the neural regions underlying responses to visual food cues before and after eating in normal-weight individuals and overweight/obese individuals. In normal-weight individuals, activity in the left amygdala in response to high-calorie food vs. nonfood object cues was positively correlated with impaired satiety scores during fasting, suggesting that those with impaired satiety scores may have an abnormal anticipatory reward response. In overweight/obese individuals, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in response to low-calorie food cues was negatively correlated with impaired satiety during fasting, suggesting that individuals scoring lower in satiety impairment were more likely to activate the DLPFC inhibitory system. After eating, activity in both the putamen and the amygdala was positively correlated with impaired satiety scores among obese/overweight participants. While these individuals may volitionally suggest they are full, their functional response to food cues suggests food continues to be salient. These findings suggest brain regions involved in the evaluation of visual food cues may be mediated by satiety-related problems, dependent on calorie content, state of satiation, and body mass index.

Neural responsivity to food cues in fasted and fed states pre and post gastric bypass surgery

Reductions in mesolimbic responsivity have been noted following Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB; Ochner et al., 2011a). Given potential for postoperative increases in postprandial gut (satiety) peptides to affect mesolimbic neural responsivity, we hypothesized that: (1) post RYGB changes in mesolimbic responsivity would be greater in the fed relative to the fasted state and; (2) fasted vs. fed state differences in mesolimbic responsivity would be greater post-relative to pre-surgery. fMRI was used to asses neural responsivity to high- and low-calorie food cues in five women 1 mo pre- and 1 mo post-RYGB. Scans were repeated in fasted and fed states. Significant post RYGB decreases in the insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) responsivity were found in the fasted state. These changes were larger than neural changes in the fed state, which were non-significant. Preoperatively, fasted vs. fed differences in neural responsivity were greater in the precuneus, with large but nonsignificant clusters in the vmPFC and dlPFC. Postoperatively, however, no fasted vs. fed differences in neural responsivity were noted. Results were opposite to that predicted and appear inconsistent with the initial hypothesis that postoperative increases in postprandial gut peptides are the primary driver of postoperative changes in neural responsivity.

Reduction in neural activation to high-calorie food cues in obese endometrial cancer survivors after a behavioral lifestyle intervention: a pilot study.

BackgroundObesity increases the risk of endometrial cancer (EC) and obese EC patients have the highest risk of death among all obesity-associated cancers. However, only two lifestyle interventions targeting this high-risk population have been conducted. In one trial, food disinhibition, as determined by the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire, decreased post-intervention compared to baseline, suggesting an increase in emotional eating and, potentially, an increase in food related reward. Therefore, we evaluated appetitive behavior using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a visual food task in 8 obese, Stage I/II EC patients before and after a lifestyle intervention (Survivors in Uterine Cancer Empowered by Exercise and a Healthy Diet, SUCCEED), which aimed to improve nutritional and exercise behaviors over 16 group sessions in 6 months using social cognitive theory.ResultsCongruent to findings in the general obese population, we found that obese EC patients, at baseline, had increased activation in response to high- vs. low-calorie food cues after eating a meal in brain regions associated with food reward (insula, cingulate gyrus; precentral gyrus; whole brain cluster corrected, p < 0.05). At 6 months post-intervention compared to baseline, we observed decreased activation for the high-calorie vs. non-food contrast, post-meal, in regions involved in food reward and motivation (posterior cingulate, cingulate gyrus, lateral globus pallidus, thalamus; claustrum; whole brain cluster corrected, p < 0.05).ConclusionsOur preliminary results suggest behavioral lifestyle interventions may help to reduce high-calorie food reward in obese EC survivors who are at a high-risk of death. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate such changes.