Resting-State Functional Connectivity between Putamen and Salience Network and Childhood Body Mass Index

Abstract

Introduction: Although the putamen has a significant role in reward-seeking and motivated behaviors, including eating and food-seeking, minorities’ diminished returns (MDRs) suggest that individual-level risk and protective factors have weaker effects for Non-Hispanic Black than Non-Hispanic White individuals. However, limited research is available on the relevance of MDRs in terms of the role of putamen functional connectivity on body mass index (BMI). Purpose: Building on the MDRs framework and conceptualizing race and socioeconomic status (SES) indicators as social constructs, we explored racial and SES differences in the associations between putamen functional connectivity to the salience network and children’s BMI. Methods: For this cross-sectional study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of 6473 9–10-year-old Non-Hispanic Black and Non-Hispanic White children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study. The primary independent variable was putamen functional connectivity to the salience network, measured by fMRI. The primary outcome was the children’s BMI. Age, sex, neighborhood income, and family structure were the covariates. Race, family structure, parental education, and household income were potential moderators. For data analysis, we used mixed-effect models in the overall sample and by race. Results: Higher right putamen functional connectivity to the salience network was associated with higher BMI in Non-Hispanic White children. The same association was missing for Non-Hispanic Black children. While there was no overall association in the pooled sample, a significant interaction was found, suggesting that the association between right putamen functional connectivity to the salience network and children’s BMI was modified by race. Compared to Non-Hispanic White children, Non-Hispanic Black children showed a weaker association between right putamen functional connectivity to the salience network and BMI. While parental education and household income did not moderate our association of interest, marital status altered the associations between putamen functional connectivity to the salience network and children’s BMI. These patterns were observed for right but not left putamen. Other/Mixed Race children also showed a pattern similar to Non-Hispanic Black children. Conclusions: The association between right putamen functional connectivity to the salience network and children’s BMI may depend on race and marital status but not parental education and household income. While right putamen functional connectivity to the salience network is associated with Non-Hispanic White children’s BMI, Non-Hispanic Black children’ BMI remains high regardless of their putamen functional connectivity to the salience network. This finding is in line with MDRs, which attributes diminished effects of individual-risk and protective factors for Non-Hispanic Black children to racism, stratification, and segregation.

Exposure to gestational diabetes mellitus in utero impacts hippocampal functional connectivity in response to food cues in children

“…Higher activation in the striatum and insula in response to food images were observed in children and adolescents with obesity compared to their healthy-weight peers (19)(20)(21). In the resting state, higher striatal and insular network FC was also linked to eating in the absence of hunger, food craving, disinhibited eating, weight gain and obesity in both children and adults (40)(41)(42)(43). Current ndings on FC between the hippocampus and striatum are inconsistent.…”

Associations of leptin and corticostriatal connectivity in bipolar disorder

“…The results showed that the BD I patients exhibited altered DC-putamen FC. The putamen is involved in reward-seeking and motivation behaviors, including food-seeking, and its FC is associated with childhood BMI 44 . The local striatal circuitry plays a critical role in the computing of sensory, motor and limbic information into behavioral and cognitive outputs, and impaired function in terms of an amplifier or filter may induce dysfunction of lateral inhibition 45 .…”