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.

Brain Connectivity, and Hormonal and Behavioral Correlates of Sustained Weight Loss in Obese Patients after Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy

“…Neuroimaging studies have reported brain activation in regions associated with reward and cogntive control in response to food cues in obese patients compared with controls (Volkow et al 2008;Garcia-Garcia et al 2013). Implicated regions include the prefrontal cortex (PFC), particularly the dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) (Hare et al 2009;Lavagnino et al 2016), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (Rosenbaum et al 2008;Wang, Kojori, et al 2019a), and mesolimbic regions (Hare et al 2009;Lavagnino et al 2016). The PFC is crucial for executive function and cognitive control (Hare et al 2009;Hu et al 2016;Lavagnino et al 2016) and the DLPFC recruits inhibitory control to modulate eating behavior in response to tempting food (Batterink et al 2010;Lopez et al 2019).…”

Association of Gastric Myoelectrical Activity With Ghrelin, Gastrin, and Irisin in Adults With Metabolically Healthy and Unhealthy Obesity

“…Simultaneous recording of the EGG in normal-weighted subjects at rest with the recording of brain activity with functional magnetic resonance imaging revealed regions where spontaneous fluctuations in the blood-oxygen-level-dependent signals were synchronized with the EGG rhythm. These regions include mid-cingulate areas, primary and secondary somatosensory cortices, and portions of the occipital lobe where food cravings could be modulated ( Rebollo et al, 2018 ; Wang G-J. et al, 2020 ; Wolpert et al, 2020 ).…”

Problem Solving Therapy-induced Amygdala Engagement Mediates Weight Loss and Lifestyle Behavior Change in Patients With Obesity and Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…These neural circuits are notable for being involved in emotional processing (54). Individuals with obesity may require greater effort to inhibit craving of pleasant but unhealthy foods (e.g., high calorie or high fat foods), especially in an emotional context (55).…”