Event Abstract Back to Event Gustatory perception alterations in obesity: an fMRI study Csaba Szalay1*, Mihály Aradi2, Attila Schwarcz2, Gergely Orsi3, Lívia Németh1, Sophia Hanna1, László Bajnok4, András Vereczkei5, László Lénárd1 and Zoltán Karádi1 1 Pécs University, Medical School, Institute of Physiology and Neurophysiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), Hungary 2 Pécs University, Medical School, Neurosurgery Clinic, Hungary 3 Pécs Diagnostic Center Ltd., Hungary 4 Pécs University, Medical School, Endocrinology Division, 1st Internal Medicine Clinic, Hungary 5 Pécs University, Medical School, Surgery Clinic, Hungary Feeding and metabolic diseases put enormous costs on the health care systems of the modern societies. The pathophysiological mechanisms of these illnesses and the central regulation of relevant functions even in healthy condition are not sufficiently understood yet. Although the functional resonance imaging (fMRI) is broadly used to examine various functions, to date it was rarely employed to study brain mechanisms associated with taste perception. In the present experiments, therefore, cerebral fMRI activation was detected during gustatory stimulations in obese patients and healthy subjects. Eight obese and 7 healthy subjects participated in the study. The investigations, in three sessions, took place in a 3T Siemens TIM Trio MR scanner at the Pécs Diagnostic Center. The gustatory stimulus solutions were delivered via intraorally positioned polyvinyl tubes. Stimuli were in the first session, sucrose as pleasant taste; in the second session, quinine HCl as aversive taste; in the third session, vanilla flavored nourishment as a complex taste. In all sessions, distilled water was delivered in the passive phases. A phased-array 12 channel headcoil, and a standard EPI sequence were employed. Group analysis was made by using the FSL software package. The taste stimuli elicited characteristic and distinct activity changes of the two groups. In contrast to moderate and fewer activation sites in the controls, in the obese patients strong activation was detected in various cortical (anterior cingulate cortex, insular and opercular cortices, orbitofrontal cortex) and subcortical structures (amygdala, nucleus accumbens, putamen and pallidum). The present examinations provide important new data for better understanding of the pathophysiological background of feeding and metabolic disorders, and may contribute to develop better strategies for prevention and effective therapies. Supported by: EFA Norwegian Financing Mechanism 0114/NA/2008-3/ÖP-9 VSZ. Conference: IBRO International Workshop 2010, Pécs, Hungary, 21 Jan - 23 Jan, 2010. Presentation Type: Poster Presentation Topic: Homeostatic and neuroendocrine systems Citation: Szalay C, Aradi M, Schwarcz A, Orsi G, Németh L, Hanna S, Bajnok L, Vereczkei A, Lénárd L and Karádi Z (2010). Gustatory perception alterations in obesity: an fMRI study. Front. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: IBRO International Workshop 2010. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.10.00133 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 28 Apr 2010; Published Online: 28 Apr 2010. * Correspondence: Csaba Szalay, Pécs University, Medical School, Institute of Physiology and Neurophysiology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences (HAS), Pécs, Hungary, csaba.szalay@aok.pte.hu Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Csaba Szalay Mihály Aradi Attila Schwarcz Gergely Orsi Lívia Németh Sophia Hanna László Bajnok András Vereczkei László Lénárd Zoltán Karádi Google Csaba Szalay Mihály Aradi Attila Schwarcz Gergely Orsi Lívia Németh Sophia Hanna László Bajnok András Vereczkei László Lénárd Zoltán Karádi Google Scholar Csaba Szalay Mihály Aradi Attila Schwarcz Gergely Orsi Lívia Németh Sophia Hanna László Bajnok András Vereczkei László Lénárd Zoltán Karádi PubMed Csaba Szalay Mihály Aradi Attila Schwarcz Gergely Orsi Lívia Németh Sophia Hanna László Bajnok András Vereczkei László Lénárd Zoltán Karádi Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. Please enable Javascript in your browser settings in order to see all the content on this page.