Body mass predicts orbitofrontal activity during visual presentations of high-calorie foods

William D.S. Killgore, Deborah A. Yurgelun-Todd

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

86 Scopus citations

Abstract

Little is known about the relationship between weight status and reward-related brain activity in normal weight humans. We correlated orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate cortex activity as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging with body mass index in 13 healthy, normal-weight adult women as they viewed images of high-calorie and low-calorie foods, and dining-related utensils. Body mass index correlated negatively with both cingulate and orbitofrontal activity during high-calorie viewing, negatively with orbitofrontal activity during low-calorie viewing, and positively with orbitofrontal activity during presentations of nonedible utensils. With greater body mass, activity was reduced in brain regions important for evaluating and modifying learned stimulus-reward associations, suggesting a relationship between weight status and responsiveness of the orbitofrontal cortex to rewarding food images.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)859-863
Number of pages5
JournalNeuroReport
Volume16
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - May 31 2005
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Anterior cingulate gyrus
  • Body mass index
  • Calorie
  • Eating
  • Food
  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging
  • Limbic system
  • Neuroimaging
  • Orbitofrontal cortex

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience

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