Influences of Dietary Added Sugar Consumption on Striatal Food-Cue Reactivity and Postprandial GLP-1 Response

Abstract

Sugar consumption in the United States exceeds recommendations from the American Heart Association. Overconsumption of sugar is linked to risk for obesity and metabolic disease. Animal studies suggest that high-sugar diets alter functions in brain regions associated with reward processing, including the dorsal and ventral striatum. Human neuroimaging studies have shown that these regions are responsive to food cues, and that the gut-derived satiety hormones, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), and peptide YY (PYY), suppress striatal food-cue responsivity. We aimed to determine the associations between dietary added sugar intake, striatal responsivity to food cues, and postprandial GLP-1 and PYY levels. Twenty-two lean volunteers underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan during which they viewed pictures of food and non-food items after a 12-h fast. Before scanning, participants consumed a glucose drink. A subset of 19 participants underwent an additional fMRI session in which they consumed water as a control condition. Blood was sampled for GLP-1, and PYY levels and hunger ratings were assessed before and ~75 min after drink consumption. In-person 24-h dietary recalls were collected from each participant on three to six separate occasions over a 2-month period. Average percent calories from added sugar were calculated using information from 24-h dietary recalls. A region-of-interest analysis was performed to compare the blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response to food vs. non-food cues in the bilateral dorsal striatum (caudate/putamen) and ventral striatum (nucleus accumbens). The relationships between added sugar, striatal responses, and hormone changes after drink consumption were assessed using Spearman’s correlations. We observed a positive correlation between added sugar intake and BOLD response to food cues in the dorsal striatum and a similar trend in the nucleus accumbens after glucose, but not water, consumption. Added sugar intake was negatively associated with GLP-1 response to glucose. Post hoc analysis revealed a negative correlation between GLP-1 response to glucose and BOLD response to food cues in the dorsal striatum. Our findings suggest that habitual added sugar intake is related to increased striatal response to food cues and decreased GLP-1 release following glucose intake, which could contribute to susceptibility to overeating.

Interaction of circulating GLP-1 and the response of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex to food-cues predicts body weight development

“…In conclusion, the concurrence of the neuro-humoral response rather than the individual reactivity enabled successful body weight control. In line with this interpretation, in recent studies an opposing peripheral and central GLP-1 reactivity has been identified following sugar consumption [35] and in obesity [36]. In a caloric restriction setup similar to the first period of our intervention trial, DLPFC cue reactivity was identified to predict weight loss, while hormonal adaptation of leptin and ghrelin were not predictive.…”

Psycho-physiological response to pain among individuals with comorbid pain and opioid use disorder: Implications for patients with prolonged abstinence

“…Future studies may wish to expand the methodology to include pre-CP test craving levels to rule out any potential confounds. Additionally, while patients reported, and healthcare provider confirmed, no use of the medications that have been previously identified as altering cold tolerance (30). However, we did not complete urine or blood tests for these medications to confirm that participants were not taking these drugs from non-prescribed sources.…”

High-Glucose or -Fructose Diet Cause Changes of the Gut Microbiota and Metabolic Disorders in Mice without Body Weight Change

“…One of the metabolic disorders, obesity, plays an important role in pathogenesis of chronic diseases and is characterized by low-grade inflammation [ 2 ]. Sugar consumption has dramatically increased in the past few decades [ 3 ] due to the wide availability of convenient, high-sugar foods, as well as an abundance of environmental food cues that prime eating behavior [ 4 ]. Overconsumption of sugar is closely linked to obesity and metabolic disease [ 5 ].…”