Inhibition of food craving is a metabolically active process in the brain in obese men

Abstract Objective Obesity is associated with impaired inhibitory control over food intake. We hypothesized that the neural circuitry underlying inhibition of food craving would be impaired in obesity. Here we assessed whether obese men show altered brain responses during attempted cognitive inhibition of craving when exposed to food cues. Methods Sixteen obese men (32 ± 8.7 years old, BMI = 38.6 ± 7.2) were compared with 11 age-matched non-obese men (BMI 24.2 ± 2.5) using PET and FDG. Brain glucose metabolism was evaluated in a food deprived state: no food stimulation, food stimulation with no inhibition (NI), and food stimulation with attempted inhibition (AI), each on a separate day. Individualized favorite food items were presented prior to and after FDG injection for 40 min. For AI, participants were asked to attempt to inhibit their desire for the food presented. Self-reports for hunger and food desire were recorded. Results Food stimulation compared with no stimulation increased glucose metabolism in inferior and superior frontal gyrus, default mode network and cerebellum, in both groups. For both groups, AI compared with NI-suppressed metabolism in right subgenual anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal areas, bilateral insula, and temporal gyri. There was a stimulation-by-group interaction effect in obese (but not in non-obese) men showing increased metabolism in pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC) and caudate during AI relative to NI. Changes in the food desire from NI to AI correlated negatively with changes in metabolism in pgACC/caudate in obese but not in non-obese men. Conclusions Obese men showed higher activation in pgACC/caudate, which are regions involved with self-regulation and emotion/reward during AI. Behavioral associations suggest that successful AI is an active process requiring more energy in obese but not in non-obese men. The additional required effort to increase cognitive control in response to food stimulation in obese compared with non-obese men may contribute to their uncontrolled eating behavior.

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Increased anticipatory but decreased consummatory brain responses to food in sisters of anorexia nervosa patients

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjpo.bp.115.002550 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 255-261 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Stefanie Horndasch ◽

Sophie O'Keefe ◽

Anneka Lamond ◽

Katie Brown ◽

Ciara McCabe

Keyword(s):

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Family History ◽

Neural Response ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Food Cues ◽

Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽

Brain Responses ◽

History Of ◽

Increased Activity

BackgroundWe have previously shown increased anticipatory and consummatory neural responses to rewarding and aversive food stimuli in women recovered from anorexia nervosa (AN).AimsTo determine whether these differences are trait markers for AN, we examined the neural response in those with a familial history but no personal history of AN.MethodThirty-six volunteers were recruited: 15 who had a sister with anorexia nervosa (family history) and 21 control participants. Using fMRI we examined the neural response during an anticipatory phase (food cues, rewarding and aversive), an effort phase and a consummatory phase (rewarding and aversive tastes).ResultsFamily history (FH) volunteers showed increased activity in the caudate during the anticipation of both reward and aversive food and in the thalamus and amygdala during anticipation of aversive only. FH had decreased activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, the pallidum and the superior frontal gyrus during taste consumption.ConclusionsIncreased neural anticipatory but decreased consummatory responses to food might be a biomarker for AN. Interventions that could normalise these differences may help to prevent disorder onset.

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Insulin sensitivity affects corticolimbic brain responses to visual food cues in polycystic ovary syndrome patients

Hormone Molecular Biology and Clinical Investigation ◽

10.1515/hmbci-2015-0048 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 24 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Hanin M. Alsaadi ◽

Dean A. Van Vugt

Keyword(s):

Polycystic Ovary ◽

Brain Regions ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Food Cues ◽

Ovary Syndrome ◽

Insulin Resistant ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Glucose Challenge ◽

Visual Food Cues ◽

Food Pictures

AbstractThis study examined the effect of insulin sensitivity on the responsiveness of appetite regulatory brain regions to visual food cues.Nineteen participants diagnosed with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) were divided into insulin-sensitive (n=8) and insulin-resistant (n=11) groups based on the homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). Subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing food pictures following water or dextrose consumption. The corticolimbic blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) responses to high-calorie (HC) or low-calorie (LC) food pictures were compared within and between groups.BOLD responses to food pictures were reduced during a glucose challenge in numerous corticolimbic brain regions in insulin-sensitive but not insulin-resistant subjects. Furthermore, the degree of insulin resistance positively correlated with the corticolimbic BOLD response in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), anterior cingulate and ventral tegmental area (VTA) in response to HC pictures, and in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), mPFC, anterior cingulate, and insula in response to LC pictures following a glucose challenge. BOLD signal in the OFC, midbrain, hippocampus, and amygdala following a glucose challenge correlated with HOMA2-IR in response to HC-LC pictures.We conclude that the normal inhibition of corticolimbic brain responses to food pictures during a glucose challenge is compromised in insulin-resistant subjects. The increase in brain responsiveness to food pictures during postprandial hyperinsulinemia may lead to greater non-homeostatic eating and perpetuate obesity in insulin-resistant subjects.

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Brain Responses to Hypnotic Verbal Suggestions Predict Pain Modulation

Frontiers in Pain Research ◽

10.3389/fpain.2021.757384 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 ◽

Author(s):

Carolane Desmarteaux ◽

Anouk Streff ◽

Jen-I Chen ◽

Bérengère Houzé ◽

Mathieu Piché ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pain Perception ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Self Regulation ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Pain Modulation ◽

Anterior Cingulate ◽

Parahippocampal Gyrus ◽

Evoked Responses ◽

Midcingulate Cortex ◽

Brain Responses

Background: The effectiveness of hypnosis in reducing pain is well supported by the scientific literature. Hypnosis typically involves verbal suggestions but the mechanisms by which verbal contents are transformed into predictive signals to modulate perceptual processes remain unclear. We hypothesized that brain activity during verbal suggestions would predict the modulation of responses to acute nociceptive stimuli.Methods: Brain activity was measured using BOLD-fMRI in healthy participants while they listened to verbal suggestions of HYPERALGESIA, HYPOALGESIA, or NORMAL sensation (control) following a standardized hypnosis induction. Immediately after the suggestions, series of noxious electrical stimuli were administered to assess pain-related responses. Brain responses measured during the suggestions were then used to predict changes in pain-related responses using delayed regression analyses.Results: Listening to suggestions of HYPERALGESIA and HYPOALGESIA produced BOLD decreases (vs. control) in the parietal operculum (PO) and in the anterior midcingulate cortex (aMCC), and increases in the left parahippocampal gyrus (lPHG). Changes in activity in PO, aMCC and PHG during the suggestions predicted larger pain-evoked responses following the HYPERALGESIA suggestions in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the anterior insula (aINS), and smaller pain-evoked responses following the HYPOALGESIA suggestions in the ACC, aMCC, posterior insula (pINS) and thalamus. These changes in pain-evoked brain responses are consistent with the changes in pain perception reported by the participants in HYPERALGESIA and HYPOALGESIA, respectively.Conclusions: The fronto-parietal network (supracallosal ACC and PO) has been associated with self-regulation and perceived self-agency. Deactivation of these regions during suggestions is predictive of the modulation of brain responses to noxious stimuli in areas previously associated with pain perception and pain modulation. The response of the hippocampal complex may reflect its role in contextual learning, memory and pain anticipation/expectations induced by verbal suggestions of pain modulation. This study provides a basis to further explore the transformation of verbal suggestions into perceptual modulatory processes fundamental to hypnosis neurophenomenology. These findings are discussed in relation to predictive coding models.

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A neuromarker for drug and food craving distinguishes drug users from non-users

10.21203/rs.3.rs-726333/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Leonie Koban ◽

Tor Wager ◽

Hedy Kober

Keyword(s):

Drug Users ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

Clinical Intervention ◽

Self Report ◽

Food Craving ◽

Food Cues ◽

Polysubstance Use ◽

Brain Responses ◽

Neurophysiological Mechanisms

Abstract Craving is a core feature of substance use disorders and a strong predictor of relapse. It is linked to polysubstance use, overeating, pathological gambling, and other maladaptive behaviors. Despite its utility, craving measures are based on self-report, with associated limitations related to introspective access and variability across sociocultural contexts. Objective biological markers of craving, which could reveal the neurophysiology of craving, are lacking. For example, it remains unclear whether craving for drugs and food involve similar or separable mechanisms. Across three studies (N = 101), we combined fMRI with machine-learning to identify a brain-based marker of cue-evoked drug and food craving, resulting in a cross-validated multi-system pattern (or brain signature), including ventromedial prefrontal and cingulate cortices, ventral striatum, temporal and parietal association areas, mediodorsal thalamus, and cerebellum. This signature predicted self-reported craving intensity (p < 0.002, within-person r = 0.50) and discriminated high from low craving with 78% accuracy. It also discriminated drug users versus non-users based on brain responses to drug (75% accuracy), but not food, cues. Predictive brain models trained on drug cues also transferred to food cues, and vice versa, suggesting shared neurophysiological mechanisms for drug and food craving. In conclusion, fMRI can be used to predict craving across different drug and food cues, and separate drug users from non-users. Future studies are needed to assess whether the brain signature of craving responds to clinical intervention and can predict long-term clinical outcomes.

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Effects of hunger state on the brain responses to food cues across the life span

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.01.012 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 171 ◽

pp. 246-255 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

L. Charbonnier ◽

F. van Meer ◽

A.M. Johnstone ◽

D. Crabtree ◽

W. Buosi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Food Cues ◽

Brain Responses ◽

The Brain

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Corrigendum to “Effects of hunger state on the brain responses to food cues across the life span” [NeuroImage 171 (2018) 246-255]

NeuroImage ◽

10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.117860 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 233 ◽

pp. 117860

Author(s):

L. Charbonnier ◽

F. van Meer ◽

A.M. Johnstone ◽

D. Crabtree ◽

W. Buosi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Life Span ◽

Food Cues ◽

Brain Responses ◽

The Brain

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Effect of Heart Rate Variability on Defensive Reaction and Eating Disorder Symptomatology in Chocolate Cravers

Journal of Psychophysiology ◽

10.1027/0269-8803.23.3.95 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 23 (3) ◽

pp. 95-103 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Sonia Rodríguez-Ruiz ◽

Elisabeth Ruiz-Padial ◽

Nieves Vera ◽

Carmen Fernández ◽

Lourdes Anllo-Vento ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Heart Rate Variability ◽

Eating Disorder ◽

Eating Behavior ◽

Rest Period ◽

Food Craving ◽

Defensive Reaction ◽

Relevant Role ◽

Eating Disorder Symptomatology ◽

Uncontrolled Eating

The study examines the effect of heart rate variability (HRV) on the cardiac defence response (CDR) and eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers. Female chocolate cravers (n = 36) and noncravers (n = 36) underwent a psychophysiological test to assess their HRV during a 5-min rest period, followed by three trials to explore the CDR, elicited by an intense white noise, during the viewing of chocolate, neutral, and unpleasant pictures. After the test, participants completed a questionnaire to measure eating disorder symptomatology. The HRV was inversely related to the magnitude of the CDR and to eating disorder symptomatology in chocolate cravers. In addition, the HRV was inversely related to the magnitude of the CDR when viewing unpleasant pictures but not to neutral or chocolate ones, across all participants. These findings support the idea that poor autonomic regulation, indexed by low HRV, plays a relevant role in food craving and uncontrolled eating behavior.

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