Altered between-network connectivity in individuals prone to obesity

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Brain Connectivity

Background:

• Obesity propensity is linked to cognitive patterns and biases.
• Understanding the neurobiology of these patterns is crucial for developing targeted interventions.
• Intrinsic brain functional connectivity offers a window into these neural underpinnings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate differences in large-scale brain network functional connectivity between obesity-prone (OP) and obesity-resistant (OR) individuals.
• To identify specific brain regions and networks associated with obesity propensity.
• To explore the neurobiological basis of cognitive biases contributing to obesity.

Main Methods:

• Used a novel whole-brain, data-driven approach with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during rest.
• Applied independent component analysis (ICA) to identify large-scale brain networks.
• Conducted voxel-specific between-network connectivity analysis to assess correlations between network time series and individual voxel time series.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in between-network connectivity were found in the bilateral basal ganglia and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) in obesity-prone individuals (OP>OR).
• Basal ganglia connectivity differences were associated with stronger negative correlations with a lateral sensorimotor network in OP individuals.
• dlPFC connectivity differences were linked to stronger negative correlations with an inferior visual network in OP individuals.

Conclusions:

• Obesity-prone individuals exhibit greater between-network connectivity in the basal ganglia and dlPFC.
• These connectivity patterns are driven by stronger associations with sensorimotor and visual networks, respectively.
• This may suggest a disrupted balance between goal-directed and habitual control systems, and internal/external monitoring processes in obesity propensity.