Caudate Functional Connectivity Associated With Weight Change in Adolescents

Abstract

Background Childhood obesity has become a global epidemic and the etiology of maladaptive ingestive behavior in children warrants further research. Mounting evidence suggests that the caudate is associated with body weight gain and obesity in adults. In adolescents, however, how caudate-related neural networks are associated with body weight gain is unclear because their central nervous systems are still developing. Objectives The current longitudinal resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) study was conducted to investigate the hypothesis that caudate-related neural networks have a role in weight gain in adolescents. Methods The study included 20 healthy adolescents with a mean age of 17.5 ± 2.0 years and a mean body mass index of 20.6 ± 2.1 who underwent baseline rs-fMRI then follow-up rs-fMRI approximately 1 year later. Body mass index (BMI) was measured at both timepoints. Seed-based functional connectivity analysis was utilized to analyze caudate-related functional connectivity (FC) using the caudate as a seed. Associations between caudate-related FC and BMI at baseline were assessed, as were associations between change in BMI and caudate-related FC between baseline and follow-up. Results At baseline, greater caudate-lateral prefrontal cortex FC was correlated with lower BMI (family wise error-corrected p < 0.05). Compared to the baseline, increased FC in the caudate-lateral prefrontal cortex at follow up were negatively associated with increased BMI ( p < 0.05). Conclusion Given that the lateral prefrontal cortex and caudate are associated with inhibitory control, the caudate-lateral prefrontal cortex FC may have a preventive effect on weight gain in adolescents. The results of the current study suggest that developing inhibitory control would lead to the prevention of childhood obesity.

Access to quality health resources and environmental toxins affect the relationship between brain structure and BMI in a sample of pre and early adolescents

“…Thus, a lack of access to these resources could have implications for weight gain, which could be one reason to explain the longitudinal associations between unhealthy weight gain trajectories and altered caudate structure. The caudate has been implicated in how the brain responds to food rewards, obesity, and weight gain in youth and adults ( 51 – 53 ), suggesting that heightened reward responses may cause individuals with obesity to overeat. In our study, it may be that a lack of social/economic resources in the environment facilitate continued weight gain, and that weight gain itself caused structural changes in the brain in the caudate (a reward region) that facilitate overeating.…”

Associations between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and infant striatal mean diffusivity

“…Moreover, the functional and structural changes in the striatum may predict future weight gain [17][18][19][20] .…”

Associations of leptin and corticostriatal connectivity in bipolar disorder

“…In the current study, we aimed to investigate the relationship between peripheral leptin and CRP levels. Regarding the role of the caudate nucleus in both metabolic control and BD 29 , we also investigated the possible correlation between leptin and caudate-seeded corticostriatal connectivity in patients with BD 30 – 32 . We hypothesized that the alterations in caudate-seeded functional connectivity (FC) in the corticostriatal circuitry may be linked to leptin metabolic feedback dysregulation in BD patients.…”