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Eric Stice - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Correlates of Neural Adaptation to Food Cues and Taste: The Role of Obesity Risk Factors.
    Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2021
    Co-Authors: Jennifer R. Sadler, Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice, Afroditi Papantoni, Grace Shearrer, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Identifying correlates of brain response to food cues and taste provides critical information on individual differences that may influence variability in eating behavior. However, few studies examine how brain response changes over repeated exposures and the individual factors that are associated with these changes. Using functional MRI, we examined how brain response to a palatable taste and proceeding cues changed over repeated exposures and how individual differences in weight, familial obesity risk, dietary restraint, and reward-responsiveness correlate with these changes. In healthy-weight adolescents (n=154), caudate and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) response increased with repeated cue presentations, and oral somatosensory cortex and insula response increased with repeated milkshake tastes. The magnitude of increase over exposures in the left PCC to cues was positively associated with BMI-percentile (r=0.18, p=0.026) and negatively associated with dietary restraint scores (r=-0.24, p=0.003). Adolescents with familial obesity risk showed higher cue-evoked caudate response across time, compared to the low risk group (r=0.12, p=0.035). Reward-responsiveness positively correlated with right oral somatosensory cortex/insula response to milkshake over time (r=0.19, p=0.018). Results show that neural responses to food cues and taste change over time, and that individual differences related to weight gain are correlated with these changes.

  • Longitudinal Associations Between Taste Sensitivity, Taste Liking, Dietary Intake and BMI in Adolescents.
    Frontiers in psychology, 2021
    Co-Authors: Afroditi Papantoni, Eric Stice, Grace E. Shearrer, Jennifer R. Sadler, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Taste sensitivity and liking drive food choices and ingestive behaviors from childhood to adulthood, yet their longitudinal association with dietary intake and BMI is largely understudied. Here, we examined the longitudinal relationship between sugar and fat sensitivity, sugar and fat liking, habitual dietary intake, and BMI percentiles in a sample of 105 healthy-weight adolescents (baseline: BMI %tile 57.0 ± 24.3; age 14-16 years) over a 4-year period. Taste sensitivity was assessed via a triangle fat and sweet taste discrimination test. Taste liking were rated on a visual analog scale for four Milkshakes that varied in sugar and fat contents (high-fat/high-sugar (HF/HS), low-fat/high-sugar (LF/HS), high-fat/low-sugar (HF/LS), low-fat/low-sugar (LF/LS) Milkshakes). A modified version of the reduced Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (BFFQ) was used to assess dietary intake. All measurements were repeated annually. Repeated measures correlations and linear mixed effects models were used to model the associations between the variables. Sugar sensitivity was negatively associated with liking for the LF/HS milkshake over the 4-year period. Low sugar sensitivity at baseline predicted increases in BMI percentile over time, but this association didn't survive a correction for multiple comparisons. Percent daily intake from fat was positively associated with liking for the HF/HS milkshake and negatively associated with liking for the LF/LS milkshake over 4 years. Together, these results demonstrate that lower sensitivity to sweet taste is linked to increased hedonic response to high-sugar foods and increased energy intake from fat seems to condition adolescents to show increased liking for high-fat/high-sugar foods.

  • Negative affect amplifies the relation between appetitive-food-related neural responses and weight gain over three-year follow-up among adolescents.
    NeuroImage. Clinical, 2019
    Co-Authors: X. Yang, Sonja Yokum, Melynda D. Casement, Eric Stice
    Abstract:

    Abstract Obesity is a major public health concern that is associated with disruption in food reward-related brain function. This study examined if negative affect and stressful events enhance the relation between the food reward-related neural response and future weight gain. Initially healthy weight adolescents (N = 135) completed fMRI paradigms in which they tasted Milkshakes and viewed palatable food images, and reported on negative affect and stressful events at baseline; BMI was measured annually over 3-year follow-up. Whole-brain analyses revealed that among participants with higher negative affect, weight gain over 3-year follow-up was predicted by elevated response to appetitive versus unappetitive food images in the left hippocampus, and elevated response in the vermis and the bilateral precuneus to tastes of milkshake versus tasteless solution. Among participants who experienced more stressful events, elevated right middle occipital gyrus response to Milkshakes predicted future weight gain. Profiling analyses suggested that participants with higher negative affect or more stressful events who later gained weight reported engaging in more restrained eating and eating disorder-related behaviors. Results suggest that negative affect or stressful events may amplify the relation of neural response to food and the risk for future weight gain.

  • Relation of FTO to BOLD response to receipt and anticipated receipt of food and monetary reward, food images, and weight gain in healthy weight adolescents.
    Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2019
    Co-Authors: Eric Stice, Sonja Yokum, Pascale Voelker
    Abstract:

    Although the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) correlates with elevated body mass, it is unclear how it contributes to overeating. We tested if individuals with the A allele show greater reward region responsivity to receipt and anticipated receipt of food and money and palatable food images. We also tested if these individuals show greater future weight gain. Initially healthy weight adolescents (Study 1, N = 162; Study 2, N = 135) completed different functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms and had their body mass measured annually over 3 years. Adolescents with the AA or AT genotypes showed less precuneus and superior parietal lobe response and greater cuneus and prefrontal cortex response to milkshake receipt and less putamen response to anticipated milkshake receipt than those with the TT genotype in separate analyses of each sample. Groups did not differ in response to palatable food images, and receipt and anticipated receipt of money, or in weight gain over 3-year follow-up. Results suggest that initially healthy weight adolescents with vs without the FTO A allele show differential responsivity to receipt and anticipated receipt of food but do not differ in neural response to palatable food images and monetary reward and do not show greater future weight gain.

  • Weight gain is associated with changes in neural response to palatable food tastes varying in sugar and fat and palatable food images: a repeated-measures fMRI study.
    The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2019
    Co-Authors: Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice
    Abstract:

    BACKGROUND Emerging data suggest that weight gain is associated with changes in neural response to palatable food tastes and palatable food cues, which may serve to maintain overeating. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether weight gain is associated with neural changes in response to tastes of Milkshakes varying in fat and sugar content and palatable food images. METHODS We compared changes in neural activity between initially healthy-weight adolescents who gained weight (n = 36) and those showing weight stability (n = 31) over 2-3 y. RESULTS Adolescents who gained weight compared with those who remained weight stable showed decreases in activation in the postcentral gyrus, prefrontal cortex, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex, and increases in activation in the parietal lobe, posterior cingulate cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus in response to a high-fat/low-sugar compared with low-fat/low-sugar milkshake. Weight gainers also showed greater decreases in activation in the anterior insula and lateral orbitofrontal cortex in response to a high-fat/high-sugar compared with low-fat/low-sugar milkshake than those who remained weight stable. No group differences emerged in response to a low-fat/high-sugar compared with a low-fat/low-sugar milkshake. Weight gainers compared with those who remained weight stable showed greater decreases in activation in the middle temporal gyrus and increases in cuneus activation in response to appetizing compared with unappetizing food pictures. The significant interactions were partially driven by group differences in baseline responsivity and by opposite changes in neural activation in adolescents who remained weight stable. CONCLUSIONS Data suggest that weight gain is associated with a decrease in responsivity of regions associated with taste and reward processing to palatable high-fat- and high-fat/high-sugar food tastes. Data also suggest that avoiding weight gain increases taste sensitivity, which may prevent future excessive weight gain.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01949636.

Kyle S Burger - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Correlates of Neural Adaptation to Food Cues and Taste: The Role of Obesity Risk Factors.
    Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2021
    Co-Authors: Jennifer R. Sadler, Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice, Afroditi Papantoni, Grace Shearrer, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Identifying correlates of brain response to food cues and taste provides critical information on individual differences that may influence variability in eating behavior. However, few studies examine how brain response changes over repeated exposures and the individual factors that are associated with these changes. Using functional MRI, we examined how brain response to a palatable taste and proceeding cues changed over repeated exposures and how individual differences in weight, familial obesity risk, dietary restraint, and reward-responsiveness correlate with these changes. In healthy-weight adolescents (n=154), caudate and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) response increased with repeated cue presentations, and oral somatosensory cortex and insula response increased with repeated milkshake tastes. The magnitude of increase over exposures in the left PCC to cues was positively associated with BMI-percentile (r=0.18, p=0.026) and negatively associated with dietary restraint scores (r=-0.24, p=0.003). Adolescents with familial obesity risk showed higher cue-evoked caudate response across time, compared to the low risk group (r=0.12, p=0.035). Reward-responsiveness positively correlated with right oral somatosensory cortex/insula response to milkshake over time (r=0.19, p=0.018). Results show that neural responses to food cues and taste change over time, and that individual differences related to weight gain are correlated with these changes.

  • Longitudinal Associations Between Taste Sensitivity, Taste Liking, Dietary Intake and BMI in Adolescents.
    Frontiers in psychology, 2021
    Co-Authors: Afroditi Papantoni, Eric Stice, Grace E. Shearrer, Jennifer R. Sadler, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Taste sensitivity and liking drive food choices and ingestive behaviors from childhood to adulthood, yet their longitudinal association with dietary intake and BMI is largely understudied. Here, we examined the longitudinal relationship between sugar and fat sensitivity, sugar and fat liking, habitual dietary intake, and BMI percentiles in a sample of 105 healthy-weight adolescents (baseline: BMI %tile 57.0 ± 24.3; age 14-16 years) over a 4-year period. Taste sensitivity was assessed via a triangle fat and sweet taste discrimination test. Taste liking were rated on a visual analog scale for four Milkshakes that varied in sugar and fat contents (high-fat/high-sugar (HF/HS), low-fat/high-sugar (LF/HS), high-fat/low-sugar (HF/LS), low-fat/low-sugar (LF/LS) Milkshakes). A modified version of the reduced Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (BFFQ) was used to assess dietary intake. All measurements were repeated annually. Repeated measures correlations and linear mixed effects models were used to model the associations between the variables. Sugar sensitivity was negatively associated with liking for the LF/HS milkshake over the 4-year period. Low sugar sensitivity at baseline predicted increases in BMI percentile over time, but this association didn't survive a correction for multiple comparisons. Percent daily intake from fat was positively associated with liking for the HF/HS milkshake and negatively associated with liking for the LF/LS milkshake over 4 years. Together, these results demonstrate that lower sensitivity to sweet taste is linked to increased hedonic response to high-sugar foods and increased energy intake from fat seems to condition adolescents to show increased liking for high-fat/high-sugar foods.

  • adolescents at high risk of obesity show greater striatal response to increased sugar content in Milkshakes
    The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2018
    Co-Authors: Grace E. Shearrer, Eric Stice, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Background Children of overweight or obese parents are at a high risk of developing obesity. Objective This study sought to examine the underlying neural factors related to parental obesity risk and the relative impact of sugar and fat when consuming a palatable food, as well as the impact of obesity risk status on brain response to appetizing food images. Design With the use of functional MRI, the responses of 108 healthy-weight adolescents [mean ± SD body mass index (kg/m2): 20.9 ± 1.9; n = 53 who were at high risk by virtue of parental obesity status, n = 55 who were low risk] to food stimuli were examined. Stimuli included 4 Milkshakes, which systematically varied in sugar and fat content, a calorie-free tasteless solution, and images of appetizing foods and glasses of water. Results High-risk compared with low-risk adolescents showed greater blood oxygen-dependent response to Milkshakes (all variants collapsed) compared with the tasteless solution in the primary gustatory and oral somatosensory cortices (P-family-wise error rate < 0.05), replicating a previous report. Notably, high-risk adolescents showed greater caudate, gustatory, and oral somatosensory responses to the high-sugar milkshake than to the tasteless solution; however, no effect of risk status was observed in the high-fat milkshake condition. Responses to food images were not related to obesity risk status. Conclusion Collectively, the data presented here suggest that parental weight status is associated with greater striatal, gustatory, and somatosensory responses to palatable foods-in particular, high-sugar foods-in their adolescent offspring, which theoretically contributes to an increased risk of future overeating. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01949636.

  • Adolescents at high risk of obesity show greater striatal response to increased sugar content in Milkshakes.
    The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2018
    Co-Authors: Grace E. Shearrer, Eric Stice, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Background Children of overweight or obese parents are at a high risk of developing obesity. Objective This study sought to examine the underlying neural factors related to parental obesity risk and the relative impact of sugar and fat when consuming a palatable food, as well as the impact of obesity risk status on brain response to appetizing food images. Design With the use of functional MRI, the responses of 108 healthy-weight adolescents [mean ± SD body mass index (kg/m2): 20.9 ± 1.9; n = 53 who were at high risk by virtue of parental obesity status, n = 55 who were low risk] to food stimuli were examined. Stimuli included 4 Milkshakes, which systematically varied in sugar and fat content, a calorie-free tasteless solution, and images of appetizing foods and glasses of water. Results High-risk compared with low-risk adolescents showed greater blood oxygen-dependent response to Milkshakes (all variants collapsed) compared with the tasteless solution in the primary gustatory and oral somatosensory cortices (P-family-wise error rate

  • Elevated Thalamic Response to High-Sugar Milkshake in Ethnic and Racial Minorities.
    Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities, 2017
    Co-Authors: Jennifer R. Gilbert, Eric Stice, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    In the USA, Hispanics and African-Americans show elevated obesity, yet little is known about possible ethnic/racial differences in brain response during intake of palatable foods. To examine potential differences between non-Hispanic white (nHW) and racial/ethnic minority individuals, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to assess brain response to intake of eucaloric Milkshakes that were either high-sugar or high-fat and a calorie-free, tasteless control solution. Our sample included healthy-weight adolescents who identified as African-American and/or Hispanic (minority, n = 27) and non-Hispanic white (nHW, n = 106). Minority participants showed elevated response in the pre-/postcentral gyrus, precuneus, and left thalamus in response to the high-sugar milkshake compared to high-fat milkshake. To confirm these effects were not driven by differences in body mass or a function of unequal cell sizes, we performed the same analyses in minority participants and a randomly selected subsample of nHW participants (n = 27) that were matched on BMI percentile. Similar to the full sample, we observed an elevated ventral posterior thalamic response to high-sugar milkshake in minority participants. This effect held after controlling for self-reported sugar and fat intake. These results suggest that African-American and Hispanic groups may have elevated response to specifically high-sugar foods in regions of the brain associated with sensory processing, providing novel information regarding the possible neural underpinnings of the disproportional risk for obesity seen in African-American and Hispanic populations.

Dana M. Small - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • No evidence for an association between obesity and milkshake liking.
    International journal of obesity (2005), 2020
    Co-Authors: Kathryn M Wall, Michael C. Farruggia, Emily E. Perszyk, Arsene Kanyamibwa, Sophie Fromm, Xue S. Davis, Jelle R. Dalenberg, Alexandra G. Difeliceantonio, Dana M. Small
    Abstract:

    Prevailing models of obesity posit that hedonic signals override homeostatic mechanisms to promote overeating in today’s food environment. What researchers mean by “hedonic” varies considerably, but most frequently refers to an aggregate of appetitive events including incentive salience, motivation, reinforcement, and perceived pleasantness. Here we define hedonic as orosensory pleasure experienced during eating and set out to test whether there is a relationship between adiposity and the perceived pleasure of a palatable and energy-dense milkshake. The perceived liking, wanting, and intensity of two palatable and energy-dense Milkshakes were assessed using the Labeled Hedonic Scale (1), visual analog scale (VAS), and Generalized Labeled Magnitude Scale (2) in 110 individuals ranging in body mass index (BMI) from 19.3 to 52.1 kg/m2. Waist circumference, waist–hip ratio, and percent body fat were also measured. Importantly, unlike the majority of prior studies, we attempted to standardize internal state by instructing participants to arrive to the laboratory neither hungry nor full and at least 1-h fasted. Data were analyzed with general linear and linear mixed effects models (GLMs). Hunger ratings were also examined prior to hedonic measurement and included as covariates in our analyses. We identified a significant association between ratings of hunger and milkshake liking and wanting. By contrast, we found no evidence for a relationship between any measure of adiposity and ratings of milkshake liking, wanting, or intensity. We conclude that adiposity is not associated with the pleasure experienced during consumption of our energy-dense and palatable Milkshakes. Our results provide further evidence against the hypothesis that heightened hedonic signals drive weight gain.

  • Reorganization of brain connectivity in obesity
    Human brain mapping, 2016
    Co-Authors: Paul Geha, Guillermo A. Cecchi, R. Todd Constable, Chadi G. Abdallah, Dana M. Small
    Abstract:

    Global brain connectivity (GBC) identifies regions of the brain, termed "hubs," which are densely connected and metabolically costly, and have a wide influence on brain function. Since obesity is associated with central and peripheral metabolic dysfunction we sought to determine if GBC is altered in obesity. Two independent fMRI data sets were subjected to GBC analyses. The first data set was acquired while participants (n = 15 healthy weight and 15 obese) tasted milkshake and the second with participants at rest (n = 33 healthy weight and 28 obese). In the resting state and during milkshake consumption GBC is consistently decreased in the ventromedial and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, insula and caudate nucleus, and increased in brain regions belonging to the dorsal attention network including premotor areas, superior parietal lobule, and visual cortex. During milkshake consumption, but not at rest, additional decreases in GBC are observed in feeding-related circuitry including the insula, amygdala, anterior hippocampus, hypothalamus, midbrain, brainstem and somatomotor cortex. Additionally, GBC differences were not accounted for by age. These results demonstrate that obesity is associated with decreased GBC in prefrontal and feeding circuits and increased GBC in the dorsal attention network. We therefore conclude that global brain organization is altered in obesity to favor networks important for external orientation over those monitoring homeostatic state and guiding feeding decisions. Furthermore, since prefrontal decreases are also observed at rest in obese individuals future work should evaluate whether these changes are associated with neurocognitive impairments frequently observed in obesity and diabetes. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1403-1420, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  • Weighing the evidence: Variance in brain responses to milkshake receipt is predictive of eating behavior.
    NeuroImage, 2015
    Co-Authors: Nils B. Kroemer, Xue Sun, Maria G. Veldhuizen, Ivan E. De Araujo, Amanda E. Babbs, Dana M. Small
    Abstract:

    Variations in brain responses to sensory stimuli are typically considered to lack information content and treated as "noise". Alternatively, variable response patterns may reflect the adjustment of biological parameters to external factors. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging in healthy non-dieting individuals to test whether intra-individual variation in brain response to the receipt of milkshake is associated with a range of behavioral and metabolic parameters. We found that, following a meal, high variability in nucleus accumbens (NAcc) response to milkshake is associated with higher body mass index, greater dietary disinhibition, more variable ad libitum food consumption, faster increases in plasma insulin, faster decreases in plasma glucose, and greater weight loss over 1year. Our results thus uncover a series of physiological parameters encrypted as variable responses in NAcc to food stimuli. They also suggest that variations in striatal activity regulate the activation of behavioral and metabolic responses to food availability.

  • The neural signature of satiation is associated with ghrelin response and triglyceride metabolism
    Physiology & behavior, 2014
    Co-Authors: Xue Sun, Maria G. Veldhuizen, Amanda E. Wray, Ivan E. De Araujo, Robert S. Sherwin, Rajita Sinha, Dana M. Small
    Abstract:

    Abstract Eating behavior is guided by a complex interaction between signals conveying information about energy stores, food availability, and palatability. How peripheral signals regulate brain circuits that guide feeding during sensation and consumption of a palatable food is poorly understood. We used fMRI to measure brain response to a palatable food (milkshake) when n = 32 participants were fasted and fed with either a fixed-portion or ad libitum meal. We found that larger post-prandial reductions in ghrelin and increases in triglycerides were associated with greater attenuation of response to the milkshake in brain regions regulating reward and feeding including the midbrain, amygdala, pallidum, hippocampus, insula and medial orbitofrontal cortex. Satiation-induced brain responses to milkshake were not related to acute changes in circulating insulin, glucose, or free fatty acids. The impact of a meal on the response to milkshake in the midbrain and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex differed depending upon whether meal termination was fixed or volitional, irrespective of the amount of food consumed. We conclude that satiation-induced changes in brain response to a palatable food are strongly and specifically associated with changes in circulating ghrelin and triglycerides and by volitional meal termination.

  • Decreased caudate response to milkshake is associated with higher body mass index and greater impulsivity.
    Physiology & behavior, 2013
    Co-Authors: R. Keith Babbs, Jennifer Felsted, Francois Chouinard-decorte, Xue Sun, Maria G. Veldhuizen, Dana M. Small
    Abstract:

    Abstract Previous investigations consistently report a negative association between body mass index (BMI) and response in the caudate nucleus during the consumption of palatable and energy dense food. Since this response has also been linked to weight gain, we sought to replicate this finding and determine if the reduced response is associated with measures of impulsivity or food reward. Two studies were conducted in which fMRI was used to measure brain response to milkshake and a tasteless control solution. In Study 1 (n = 25) we also assessed self-reported impulsivity, willingness to work for food, and subjective experiences of the pleasantness of milkshake taste and aroma. Replicating prior work, we report a negative association between BMI and brain response to milkshake vs. tasteless in the caudate nucleus. The opposite pattern was observed in the ventral putamen, with greater response observed in the 13 overweight compared to the 12 healthy weight subjects. Regression of brain response against impulsivity and food reward measures revealed one significant association: in the overweight but not healthy weight group self-reported impulsivity was negatively associated with caudate response to milkshake. In Study 2 (n = 14), in addition to assessing brain response to milkshake and tasteless solutions subjects completed a go/no-go task outside the scanner. As predicted, we identified an inverse relationship between caudate response to milkshake vs. tasteless and failure to inhibit responses on the no-go trials. We conclude that the inverse correlation between BMI and caudate response to milkshake is associated with impulsivity but not food reward. These findings suggest that response to milkshake in the dorsal striatum may be related to weight gain by promoting impulsive eating behavior.

Sonja Yokum - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Correlates of Neural Adaptation to Food Cues and Taste: The Role of Obesity Risk Factors.
    Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2021
    Co-Authors: Jennifer R. Sadler, Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice, Afroditi Papantoni, Grace Shearrer, Kyle S Burger
    Abstract:

    Identifying correlates of brain response to food cues and taste provides critical information on individual differences that may influence variability in eating behavior. However, few studies examine how brain response changes over repeated exposures and the individual factors that are associated with these changes. Using functional MRI, we examined how brain response to a palatable taste and proceeding cues changed over repeated exposures and how individual differences in weight, familial obesity risk, dietary restraint, and reward-responsiveness correlate with these changes. In healthy-weight adolescents (n=154), caudate and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) response increased with repeated cue presentations, and oral somatosensory cortex and insula response increased with repeated milkshake tastes. The magnitude of increase over exposures in the left PCC to cues was positively associated with BMI-percentile (r=0.18, p=0.026) and negatively associated with dietary restraint scores (r=-0.24, p=0.003). Adolescents with familial obesity risk showed higher cue-evoked caudate response across time, compared to the low risk group (r=0.12, p=0.035). Reward-responsiveness positively correlated with right oral somatosensory cortex/insula response to milkshake over time (r=0.19, p=0.018). Results show that neural responses to food cues and taste change over time, and that individual differences related to weight gain are correlated with these changes.

  • Negative affect amplifies the relation between appetitive-food-related neural responses and weight gain over three-year follow-up among adolescents.
    NeuroImage. Clinical, 2019
    Co-Authors: X. Yang, Sonja Yokum, Melynda D. Casement, Eric Stice
    Abstract:

    Abstract Obesity is a major public health concern that is associated with disruption in food reward-related brain function. This study examined if negative affect and stressful events enhance the relation between the food reward-related neural response and future weight gain. Initially healthy weight adolescents (N = 135) completed fMRI paradigms in which they tasted Milkshakes and viewed palatable food images, and reported on negative affect and stressful events at baseline; BMI was measured annually over 3-year follow-up. Whole-brain analyses revealed that among participants with higher negative affect, weight gain over 3-year follow-up was predicted by elevated response to appetitive versus unappetitive food images in the left hippocampus, and elevated response in the vermis and the bilateral precuneus to tastes of milkshake versus tasteless solution. Among participants who experienced more stressful events, elevated right middle occipital gyrus response to Milkshakes predicted future weight gain. Profiling analyses suggested that participants with higher negative affect or more stressful events who later gained weight reported engaging in more restrained eating and eating disorder-related behaviors. Results suggest that negative affect or stressful events may amplify the relation of neural response to food and the risk for future weight gain.

  • Relation of FTO to BOLD response to receipt and anticipated receipt of food and monetary reward, food images, and weight gain in healthy weight adolescents.
    Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2019
    Co-Authors: Eric Stice, Sonja Yokum, Pascale Voelker
    Abstract:

    Although the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) correlates with elevated body mass, it is unclear how it contributes to overeating. We tested if individuals with the A allele show greater reward region responsivity to receipt and anticipated receipt of food and money and palatable food images. We also tested if these individuals show greater future weight gain. Initially healthy weight adolescents (Study 1, N = 162; Study 2, N = 135) completed different functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigms and had their body mass measured annually over 3 years. Adolescents with the AA or AT genotypes showed less precuneus and superior parietal lobe response and greater cuneus and prefrontal cortex response to milkshake receipt and less putamen response to anticipated milkshake receipt than those with the TT genotype in separate analyses of each sample. Groups did not differ in response to palatable food images, and receipt and anticipated receipt of money, or in weight gain over 3-year follow-up. Results suggest that initially healthy weight adolescents with vs without the FTO A allele show differential responsivity to receipt and anticipated receipt of food but do not differ in neural response to palatable food images and monetary reward and do not show greater future weight gain.

  • Weight gain is associated with changes in neural response to palatable food tastes varying in sugar and fat and palatable food images: a repeated-measures fMRI study.
    The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2019
    Co-Authors: Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice
    Abstract:

    BACKGROUND Emerging data suggest that weight gain is associated with changes in neural response to palatable food tastes and palatable food cues, which may serve to maintain overeating. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether weight gain is associated with neural changes in response to tastes of Milkshakes varying in fat and sugar content and palatable food images. METHODS We compared changes in neural activity between initially healthy-weight adolescents who gained weight (n = 36) and those showing weight stability (n = 31) over 2-3 y. RESULTS Adolescents who gained weight compared with those who remained weight stable showed decreases in activation in the postcentral gyrus, prefrontal cortex, insula, and anterior cingulate cortex, and increases in activation in the parietal lobe, posterior cingulate cortex, and inferior frontal gyrus in response to a high-fat/low-sugar compared with low-fat/low-sugar milkshake. Weight gainers also showed greater decreases in activation in the anterior insula and lateral orbitofrontal cortex in response to a high-fat/high-sugar compared with low-fat/low-sugar milkshake than those who remained weight stable. No group differences emerged in response to a low-fat/high-sugar compared with a low-fat/low-sugar milkshake. Weight gainers compared with those who remained weight stable showed greater decreases in activation in the middle temporal gyrus and increases in cuneus activation in response to appetizing compared with unappetizing food pictures. The significant interactions were partially driven by group differences in baseline responsivity and by opposite changes in neural activation in adolescents who remained weight stable. CONCLUSIONS Data suggest that weight gain is associated with a decrease in responsivity of regions associated with taste and reward processing to palatable high-fat- and high-fat/high-sugar food tastes. Data also suggest that avoiding weight gain increases taste sensitivity, which may prevent future excessive weight gain.This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01949636.

  • Elevated reward response to receipt of palatable food predicts future weight variability in healthy-weight adolescents.
    The American journal of clinical nutrition, 2017
    Co-Authors: Samantha R. Winter, Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice, Karol Osipowicz, Michael R. Lowe
    Abstract:

    Background: Both an elevated brain-reward-region response to palatable food and elevated weight variability have been shown to predict future weight gain.Objective: We examined whether the brain-reward response to food is related to future weight variability.Design: A total of 162 healthy-weight adolescents, who were aged 14-18 y at baseline, were enrolled in the study and were assessed annually over a 3-y follow-up period with 127 participants completing the final 3-y follow-up assessment. With the use of functional magnetic resonance imaging, we tested whether the neural responses to a cue that signaled an impending milkshake receipt and the receipt of the milkshake predicted weight variability over the follow-up period. Weight variability was modeled with a root mean squared error method to reflect fluctuations in weight independent of the net weight change.Results: Elevated activation in the medial prefrontal cortex and supplementary motor area, cingulate gyrus, cuneus and occipital gyrus, and insula in response to milkshake receipt predicted greater weight variability. Greater activation in the precuneus and middle temporal gyrus predicted lower weight variability.Conclusions: From our study data, we suggest that the elevated activation of reward and emotional-regulation brain regions (medial prefrontal cortex, cingulate cortex, and insula) and lower activation in self-reference regions (precuneus) in response to milkshake receipt predict weight variability over 3 y of follow-up. The fact that the reward response in the current study emerged in response to high-calorie palatable food receipt suggests that weight variability may be a measure of propensity periods of a positive energy balance and should be examined in addition to measures of the net weight change. With our collective results, we suggest that weight variability and its brain correlates should be added to other variables that are predictive of weight gain to inform the design of obesity-preventive programs in adolescents. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01807572.

Cara Bohon - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Brain response to taste in overweight children: A pilot feasibility study.
    PloS one, 2017
    Co-Authors: Cara Bohon
    Abstract:

    Understanding the neural response to food and food cues during early stages of weight gain in childhood may help us determine the drive processes involved in unhealthy eating behavior and risk for obesity. Healthy weight and overweight children ages 6–8 (N = 18; 10 with BMI between 5th and 85th %ile and 8 with BMI >85th %ile) underwent fMRI scans while anticipating and receiving tastes of chocolate milkshake. Parents completed a Children’s Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. Results reveal greater response to milkshake taste receipt in overweight children in the right insula, operculum, precentral gyrus, and angular gyrus, and bilateral precuneus and posterior cingulate. No group differences were found for brain response to a visual food cue. Exploratory analyses revealed interactions between self-report measures of eating behavior and weight status on brain response to taste. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence of feasibility of studying young children’s taste processing and suggests a possible developmental shift in brain response to taste.

  • Greater emotional eating scores associated with reduced frontolimbic activation to palatable taste in adolescents.
    Obesity (Silver Spring Md.), 2014
    Co-Authors: Cara Bohon
    Abstract:

    Objective This study examined the relation between self-reported emotional eating scores and frontolimbic brain response to palatable taste in adolescents. Methods Participants included 162 adolescents (mean BMI percentile = 52.7, range 3-90). Participants completed a self-report survey assessing emotional eating and underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while viewing pictures signaling subsequent delivery of a chocolate milkshake or a control taste and receiving the corresponding taste. Results Results revealed no significant relation between emotional eating scores and brain response to anticipation of receipt of milkshake. In response to milkshake taste receipt, emotional eating scores were negatively related to activation in the right thalamus, the left insula and orbitofrontal cortex, and bilateral putamen and caudate. These findings remained significant after controlling for body mass index and body fat percentage. Conclusions The current results are discussed in the context of findings of reduced reward activation to palatable taste receipt in obese adults and adolescents.

  • Negative affect and neural response to palatable food intake in bulimia nervosa
    Appetite, 2012
    Co-Authors: Cara Bohon, Eric Stice
    Abstract:

    Binge eating is often preceded by reports of negative affect, but the mechanism by which affect may lead to binge eating is unclear. This study evaluated the effect of negative affect on neural response to anticipation and receipt of palatable food in women with bulimia nervosa (BN) versus healthy controls. We also evaluated connectivity between the amygdala and reward-related brain regions. Females with and without BN (n=26) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and a tasteless solution. We measured negative affect just prior to the scan. Women with BN showed a positive correlation between negative affect and activity in the putamen, caudate, and pallidum during anticipated receipt of milkshake (versus tasteless solution). There were no significant relations between negative affect and receipt of milkshake. Connectivity analyses revealed a greater relation of amygdala activity to activation in the left putamen and insula during anticipated receipt of milkshake in the bulimia group relative to the control group. The opposite pattern was found for the taste of milkshake; the control group showed a greater relation of amygdala activity to activation in the left putamen and insula in response to milkshake receipt than the bulimia group. Results show that as negative affect increases, so does responsivity of reward regions to anticipated intake of palatable food, implying that negative affect may increase the reward value of food for individuals with bulimia nervosa or that negative affect has become a conditioned cue due to a history of binge eating in a negative mood.

  • An fMRI study of obesity, food reward, and perceived caloric density. Does a low-fat label make food less appealing? ☆
    Appetite, 2011
    Co-Authors: Janet Ng, Sonja Yokum, Eric Stice, Cara Bohon
    Abstract:

    We tested the hypothesis that obese individuals experience greater activation of the gustatory and somatosensory cortex, but weaker activation of the striatum, in response to intake and anticipated intake of high-fat chocolate milkshake versus an isocaloric milkshake labeled low-fat and a tasteless solution using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with 17 obese and 17 lean young women. Obese relative to lean women showed greater activation in somatosensory (Rolandic operculum), gustatory (frontal operculum), and reward valuation regions (amgydala, ventralmedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in response to intake and anticipated intake of milkshake versus tasteless solution, though there was little evidence of reduced striatal activation. Obese relative to lean women also showed greater activation in the Rolandic operculum, frontal operculum, and vmPFC in response to isocaloric Milkshakes labeled regular versus low-fat. Results suggest that hyper-responsivity of somatosensory, gustatory, and reward valuation regions may be related to overeating and that top-down processing influence reward encoding, which could further contribute to weight gain.

  • Female emotional eaters show abnormalities in consummatory and anticipatory food reward: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study.
    The International journal of eating disorders, 2009
    Co-Authors: Cara Bohon, Eric Stice, Sonja T P Spoor
    Abstract:

    Objective: To test the hypothesis that emotional eaters show greater neural activation in response to food intake and anticipated food intake than nonemotional eaters and whether these differences are amplified during a negative versus neutral mood state. Method: Female emotional eaters and nonemotional eaters (N = 21) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during receipt and anticipated receipt of chocolate milkshake and a tasteless control solution while in a negative and neutral mood. Results: Emotional eaters showed greater activation in the parahippocampal gyrus and anterior cingulate (ACC) in response to anticipated receipt of milkshake and greater activation in the pallidum, thalamus, and ACC in response to receipt of milkshake during a negative relative to a neutral mood. In contrast, nonemotional eaters showed decreased activation in reward regions during a negative versus a neutral mood. Discussion: Results suggest that emotional eating is related to increased anticipatory and consummatory food reward, but only during negative mood. © 2008 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Eat Disord 2009