Brain regions implicated in inhibitory control and appetite regulation are activated in response to food portion size and energy density in children

Fearnbach, S. Nicole; Lasschuijt, Marlou; Schlegel, Angela M.; Anderson, Kaitlin E.; Harris, Sam; Wilson, Stephen J.; Fisher, Jennifer O.; Savage, Jennifer S.; Rolls, Barbara J.; Keller, Kathleen L.

doi:10.1038/ijo.2016.126

Cited by 28 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…7 Conceptually, eating in the absence of hunger is based on Schachter's externality theory of obesity 14 Consistent with the externality theory of obesity, a growing body of literature has shown differential sensory processing in the brain for hedonic taste and visual stimuli in youth with and without obesity. 18,25,27 Together, these data suggest that hedonically motivated disinhibited eating behaviour may be a manifestation of disrupted response to food cues within these brain regions. 19,25,26 Additionally, functional dysregulation of brain regions involved with cognitive and attentional control processes, specifically inhibitory control, is also implicated in hedonically motivated disinhibited eating behaviours.…”

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confidence: 82%

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Hedonically motivated disinhibited eating behaviour, such as eating in the absence of hunger, is of particular concern given the ubiquitous availability of highly palatable, hedonic foods in modern society. [15][16][17][18][19] Specifically, brain regions subserving sensory processing and salience valuation of stimuli such as the insula, [20][21][22] and reward circuitry including the ventral striatum, amygdala, and ventral tegmental area, 23,24 are altered in hedonically motivated disinhibited eating behaviours. 7 Conceptually, eating in the absence of hunger is based on Schachter's externality theory of obesity 14 Consistent with the externality theory of obesity, a growing body of literature has shown differential sensory processing in the brain for hedonic taste and visual stimuli in youth with and without obesity.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Eating in the absence of hunger in young children is related to brain reward network hyperactivity and reduced functional connectivity in executive control networks

et al. 2019

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Summary Background Recent work has implicated disinhibited eating behaviours (DEB) as a potential pathway toward obesity development in children. However, the underlying neurobiology of disinhibited eating behaviours in young, healthy weight children, prior to obesity development, remains unknown. Objectives This study tested the relationship between DEB and intrinsic neuronal activity and connectivity in young children without obesity. Methods Brain networks implicated in overeating including reward, salience and executive control networks, and the default mode network were investigated. DEB was measured by the eating in the absence of hunger (EAH) paradigm with postlunch kilocalories consumed from highly palatable foods (EAH kcal) used as the predictor. Intrinsic neuronal activity within and connectivity between specified networks were measured via resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Eighteen typically developing children (mean age = 5.8 years) were included. Results EAH kcal was positively associated with activity of the nucleus accumbens, a major reward network hub (P < 0.05, corrected). EAH kcal was negatively associated with intrinsic prefrontal cortex connectivity to the striatum (P < 0.01, corrected). Conclusions These results suggest that neural aspects of DEB are detectable in young children without obesity, providing a potential tool to better understand the development of obesity in this population.

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confidence: 82%

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confidence: 99%

Eating in the absence of hunger in young children is related to brain reward network hyperactivity and reduced functional connectivity in executive control networks

et al. 2019

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“…This region is important for semantic selection (44) and behavioral control of emotion and motivation (45,46). We previously reported increased activation to large-portion cues (31) in the IFG that were from BA 44, which is in proximity to a region that has been implicated in the taste response to cues (47) and is posterior to BA 47. We speculate that differences between results from that analysis and the current study may have been due to the different locations and functions within the IFG.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We previously tested a limited number of a priori-defined brain regions that have been implicated in reward processing and decision making in this same cohort with the use of a different analytic approach (31). However, there may be other brain regions that have not been previously tested that are responsive to food PS and ED cues.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food portion size and energy density evoke different patterns of brain activation in children

Fearnbach

Wilson

Fisher

et al. 2017

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

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Background: Large portions of food promote intake, but the mechanisms that drive this effect are unclear. Previous neuroimaging studies have identified the brain-reward and decision-making systems that are involved in the response to the energy density (ED) (kilocalories per gram) of foods, but few studies have examined the brain response to the food portion size (PS). Objective: We used functional MRI (fMRI) to determine the brain response to food images that differed in PSs (large and small) and ED (high and low). Design: Block-design fMRI was used to assess the blood oxygen leveldependent (BOLD) response to images in 36 children (7-10 y old; girls: 50%), which was tested after a 2-h fast. Pre-fMRI fullness and liking were rated on visual analog scales. A whole-brain cluster-corrected analysis was used to compare BOLD activation for main effects of the PS, ED, and their interaction. Secondary analyses were used to associate BOLD contrast values with appetitive traits and laboratory intake from meals for which the portions of all foods were increased. Results: Compared with small-PS cues, large-PS cues were associated with decreased activation in the inferior frontal gyrus (P , 0.01). Compared with low-ED cues, high-ED cues were associated with increased activation in multiple regions (e.g., in the caudate, cingulate, and precentral gyrus) and decreased activation in the insula and superior temporal gyrus (P , 0.01 for all). A PS 3 ED interaction was shown in the superior temporal gyrus (P , 0.01). BOLD contrast values for high-ED cues compared with low-ED cues in the insula, declive, and precentral gyrus were negatively related to appetitive traits (P , 0.05). There were no associations between the brain response to the PS and either appetitive traits or intake. Conclusions: Cues regarding food PS may be processed in the lateral prefrontal cortex, which is a region that is implicated in cognitive control, whereas ED activates multiple areas involved in sensory and reward processing. Possible implications include the development of interventions that target decision-making and reward systems differently to moderate overeating.Am J Clin Nutr 2017;105:295-305.

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“…Functional magnetic resonance imaging studies have shown positive correlations between viewing palatable food stimuli and blood-oxygen-leveldependent (BOLD) response in regions implicated in reward and inhibitory control (10)(11)(12). Alterations in these responses have been positively linked to weight gain (13,14) and obesity in adults (15)(16)(17) and children (18,19).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Food or money? Children's brains respond differently to rewards regardless of weight status

et al. 2018

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Summary Background Brain responses to both food and monetary rewards have been linked to weight gain and obesity in adults, suggesting that general sensitivity to reward contributes to overeating. However, the relationship between brain reward response and body weight in children is unclear. Objective The objective of this study was to assess the brain's response to multiple rewards and the relationship to body weight in children. Methods We tested this by performing functional magnetic resonance imaging while children (7‐ to 11‐years‐old; healthy weight [n = 31], overweight/obese [n = 30]) played a modified card‐guessing task to assess blood‐oxygen‐level‐dependent (BOLD) response to anticipating and winning food and money rewards. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were analysed using a region of interest and exploratory whole‐brain approach. Results Region of interest results demonstrated increased BOLD response in the striatum to anticipating food vs. neutral (control) and winning money vs. neutral. Whole‐brain data showed that winning money vs. food was associated with increased activation in the striatum, as well as regions associated with cognitive control and emotion. Notably, for both approaches, these effects were independent of child weight status. Additionally, children's reported food responsiveness and emotional overeating were negatively correlated with the BOLD response in the left cingulate gyrus for winning food vs. money. Conclusion Overall, findings from this study show that regions associated with reward, cognitive control and emotion may play a role in the brain's response to food and money rewards, independently of how much the child weighs. These findings provide insight into reward sensitivity in children, which may have implications for understanding overeating and the development of obesity.

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Brain regions implicated in inhibitory control and appetite regulation are activated in response to food portion size and energy density in children

Abstract: This is the first fMRI study to report increased activation to large portions in a brain region that is involved in inhibitory control. These findings may contribute to understanding why some children overeat when presented with large portions of palatable food.

Cited by 28 publications

References 58 publications

Eating in the absence of hunger in young children is related to brain reward network hyperactivity and reduced functional connectivity in executive control networks

Eating in the absence of hunger in young children is related to brain reward network hyperactivity and reduced functional connectivity in executive control networks

Food portion size and energy density evoke different patterns of brain activation in children

Food or money? Children's brains respond differently to rewards regardless of weight status

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