Elevated BMI Is Associated With Decreased Blood Flow in the Prefrontal Cortex Using SPECT Imaging in Healthy Adults

Abstract

Obesity is a risk factor for stroke and neurodegenerative disease. Excess body fat has been linked to impaired glucose metabolism, insulin resistance, and impulsivity and may be a precursor to decline in attention and executive cognitive function. Here, we investigated the effects of high BMI on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) imaging in healthy subjects. A total of 16 adult men and 20 adult women were recruited from the community between January 2003 and July 2009 as part of a healthy brain study (HBS) conducted at the Amen Clinics, a private medical facility. Participants in the study were screened to exclude medical, neurological, and psychiatric conditions, including substance abuse. Subjects were categorized as normal or overweight according to BMI. Using a two sample t-test, we determined the effects of BMI on rCBF in normal vs. overweight subjects. Subjects were matched for age and gender. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) revealed a higher BMI in healthy individuals that is associated with decreased rCBF in Broadmann areas 8, 9, 10, 11, 32, and 44, brain regions involved in attention, reasoning, and executive function (P < 0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). We found that an elevated BMI is associated with decreased rCBF in the prefrontal cortex of a healthy cohort. These results indicate that elevated BMI may be a risk factor for decreased prefrontal cortex function and potentially impaired executive function.

Anorexia Nervosa and Obesity are Associated with Opposite Brain Reward Response

“…But a recent study found no such abnormalities when a correction for the commonly in AN reduced brain volume was applied (Bailer et al, 2007), suggesting that baseline blood flow is not reduced. In OB, reduced resting blood flow was found in various frontal cortical brain regions (Willeumier et al, 2011), but that study did not correct for brain volume. As OB has been associated with reduced brain GM volumes (Gunstad et al, 2008), reduced regional brain blood flow in OB is not certain, and the found blood-flow reduction may have disappeared if a partial volume correction had been applied, similarly to the results in AN.…”

Cognitive deficits, obesity and disability in schizophrenia

“…Sequelae of chronic hyperlipidemia and poor glycaemic control, and of manifest hypertension and diabetes, likely contribute to, and cause deficits across a variety of cognitive domains [65,66] including attention, processing speed, memory, and executive functioning [67,68]. Overweight and obesity significantly reduce regional cerebral blood flow, specifically to the prefrontal cortex, negatively impacting behaviors associated with the PFC [69];…”

“…In otherwise mentally healthy individuals, elevated body mass index (BMI) has independently been associated with reduced cognitive performance [62], related to changes in brain structure and function [63], and reduced decision making capacity [64]. Sequelae of chronic hyperlipidemia and poor glycaemic control, and of manifest hypertension and diabetes, likely contribute to, and cause deficits across a variety of cognitive domains [65,66] including attention, processing speed, memory, and executive functioning [67,68].…”

Association between central obesity and executive function as assessed by stroop task performance: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

“…1 Data from the World Health Organization suggest that overweight and obesity lead to health consequences such as cancers, cardiovascular disease and metabolic disease. 2 Recent studies have suggested that obesity is an important predictor of structural brain impairments, 3 abnormal brain function 4 and decreased behavioral performance in tests of executive function (EF). 5 Body mass index (BMI) has been widely used in previous studies as a sole marker of obesity.…”