Longitudinal changes in brain structures related to appetitive reactivity and regulation across development

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Over one-third of the US population, including children and adolescents, are overweight or obese.
• Few studies have investigated developmental changes in food craving regulation.
• Obesity prevalence highlights the need to understand appetite control development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine structural brain and behavioral changes related to craving regulation across development.
• To identify neural correlates of improved craving regulation with age.
• To assess the predictive power of brain structure on craving regulation and weight.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design with individuals aged 6-26.
• Two structural brain scans per participant.
• Behavioral task assessing cognitive regulation of food appetitive value.

Main Results:

• Behaviorally, craving regulation ability improved with age.
• Cortical thinning in medial and lateral prefrontal cortex correlated with improved regulation.
• Brain structure models predicted regulation behavior better than age alone.
• Smaller ventral striatal volumes were linked to higher BMI and predicted future weight gain.

Conclusions:

• Structural brain changes support the development of resisting food cravings.
• Prefrontal cortex maturation plays a key role in regulating appetite.
• Ventral striatal volume may be a biomarker for obesity risk and progression.