Different Food Odors Control Brain Connectivity in Impulsive Children

Abstract

Background: Impulsivity is a complex multi-dimensional combination of behaviors which include: ineffective impulse control, premature decision-making and inability to delay gratification. Objective: The aim of this work was to explore how food odor perception and its emotional value is affected in impulsive children. Methods: Here we compared two cohorts of impulsive and control children with ages between 10 and 16 years. Both groups underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, in which foodrelated odor-cues were presented to all of them. Results: Differences in regions of blood oxygen level dependent activation, as well as connectivity, were calculated. Activations were significant for all odors in the impulsive group in the temporal lobe, cerebellum, supplementary motor area, frontal cortex, medial cingulate cortex, insula, precuneus, precentral, para-hippocampal and calcarine cortices. Conclusion: Connectivity results showed that the expected emotional reward, based on odor perceived and processed in temporal lobes, was the main cue driving responses of impulsive children. This was followed by self-consciousness, the sensation of interaction with the surroundings and feelings of comfort and happiness, modulated by the precuneus together with somatosensory cortex and cingulum. Furthermore, reduced connectivity to frontal areas as well as to other sensory integration areas (piriform cortex), combined to show different sensory processing strategies for olfactory emotional cues in impulsive children. Finally, we hypothesize that the cerebellum plays a pivotal role in modulating decision-making for impulsive children.

BOLD Activation During the Application of MOXO-CPT in School Patients With and Without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

“…It is therefore an ideal instrument to study the response of ADHD patients to different stimuli. BOLD and fMRI have been used to study ADHD in the past and there are many publications in the field (de Celis et al, 2019; De Silva et al, 2019; Guerrero et al, 2016; Tobón et al, 2020; Rubia et al, 2021). However, works that combines the use of MOXO with BOLD imaging studies with fMRI are, to our knowledge, scarce or non-existent.…”

Association of Disinhibited Eating and Trait of Impulsivity With Insula and Amygdala Responses to Palatable Liquid Consumption

“…The primary gustatory area is located in the insular cortex ( Chikazoe et al, 2019 ), while the insular responses to food cues are associated with greater adiposity ( Rothemund et al, 2007 ), binge-eating behavior ( Schienle et al, 2009 ), and food reward ( van Rijn et al, 2018 ). Furthermore, functional connectivity in the insula is associated with impulsivity ( Wisner et al, 2013 ; Chen et al, 2016 ; Zheng et al, 2019 ; Kim et al, 2021 ) insular activation related to reward processing has been linked to impulsivity ( Villafuerte et al, 2012 ) and increased response to food orders in the insula is connected to greater impulsivity in adolescents ( de Celis-Alonso et al, 2019 ). Moreover, behavioral disinhibition is associated with hypometabolism ( Schroeter et al, 2011 ), traumatic injuries ( Knutson et al, 2015 ), and tissue loss ( Rosen et al, 2005 ) in the insula.…”