Structural brain differences and cognitive functioning related to body mass index in older females

Walther, Katrin; Birdsill, Alex C.; Glisky, Elizabeth L.; Ryan, Lee

doi:10.1002/hbm.20916

Cited by 262 publications

(300 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…For example, an MRI study done in elderly women, using voxel-wise morphometry, found a negative correlation between BMI and gray matter volumes (including frontal regions), which, in the OFC, was associated with impaired executive function (Walther et al 2010). Using PET to measure brain glucose metabolism in healthy controls, we reported a negative correlation between BMI and metabolic activity in DLPFC, OFC and ACC.…”

Section: Involvement Of Motivation Circuitsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Food and Drug Reward: Overlapping Circuits in Human Obesity and Addiction

Volkow

Wang

Fowler

et al. 2011

Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences

342

326

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Both drug addiction and obesity can be defined as disorders in which the saliency value of one type of reward (drugs and food, respectively) becomes abnormally enhanced relative to, and at the expense of others. This model is consistent with the fact that both drugs and food have powerful reinforcing effects -partly mediated by dopamine increases in the limbic system-that, under certain circumstances or in vulnerable individuals, could overwhelm the brain's homeostatic control mechanisms. Such parallels have generated significant interest in understanding the shared vulnerabilities and trajectories between addiction and obesity. Now, brain imaging discoveries have started to uncover common features between these two conditions and to delineate some of the overlapping brain circuits whose dysfunctions may explain stereotypic and related behavioral deficits in human subjects. These results suggest that both obese and drug addicted individuals suffer from impairments in dopaminergic pathways that regulate neuronal systems associated not only with reward sensitivity and incentive motivation, but also with conditioning (memory/learning), impulse control (behavioral inhibition), stress reactivity and interoceptive awareness. Here, we integrate findings predominantly derived from positron emission tomography that investigate the role of dopamine in drug addiction and in obesity and propose an updated working model to help identify treatment strategies that may benefit both of these conditions.

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Section: Involvement Of Motivation Circuitsmentioning

confidence: 72%

Food and Drug Reward: Overlapping Circuits in Human Obesity and Addiction

Volkow

Wang

Fowler

et al. 2011

Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences

342

326

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Furthermore, our finding of increased surface area in the left fusiform gyrus with increased BMI is rather interesting, given that previous studies also show a negative relationship between BMI and volume in this same region (Taki et al, 2008;Walther et al, 2010). This may suggest that the decreasing volume is accompanied by a general increase in surface area.…”

Section: Bmisupporting

confidence: 69%

Structural and functional neural correlates of a mind-body connection.

Faul¹

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The human brain underlies the complex cognitive processes of the mind, however, this is dependent upon the physiological processes of the body in order to receive adequate energy, oxygen, and blood flow. Therefore, physical measurements such as body mass index (BMI) and indices of cognitive functioning, such as intelligence, may be related via common neural features. Current analyses assessed morphometric differences in cortical and subcortical grey matter regions, white matter structural integrity, and resting-state functional activation in order to determine what combinations of neural variables predict BMI and intelligence (Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence; WASI) with the best degree of accuracy. Data for eighty-five subjects was obtained from the Nathan Kline Institute, in connection with the 1000 Functional Connectomes neuroimaging database. Behavioral results indicated a negative correlation between BMI and WASI scores. Neural analyses revealed that increased BMI predicted changes in a frontolimbic network comprised of the anterior cingulate cortex, amygdala, and uncinate fasciculus, as well as increased cortical surface area of the left fusiform gyrus. These results indicate a relationship of BMI with emotional decision-making and visual recognition processes. Whereas, increased WASI scores predicted increased thickness and volume of prefrontal and parietal cortices, which reflect brain regions involved in the fronto-parietal attentional network. As well, increased WASI scores also related to a functional network that included increased activation of the postcentral gyrus and posterior hippocampal complex, regions involved with attention and memory. Taken together, these results indicate that BMI and intelligence are behaviorally anticorrelated, yet mediated by separate neuroanatomical substrates that associate with a variety of cognitive functioning measures.

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“…It has been shown that a higher BMI was correlated with decreased gray matter in the left OFC and right cerebellum (Walther et al, 2010), indicating that obese individuals have limited inhibitions than controls (Baylis & Moore, 1994). In this study (Zhang et al, unpublished results), obese men had decreased neural activity in the left DLPFC prior to liquid ingestion, meaning they could not inhibit their hunger and found eating to be more desirable.…”

Section: Neuroimaging Of Food Addiction: Main Findingsmentioning

confidence: 48%