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Related Concept Videos

Regulation of Food Intake01:30

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Short-term regulation of food intake primarily involves neural signals from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, blood nutrient levels, and GI tract hormones. Communication between the gut and brain via vagal nerve fibers plays a significant role in evaluating the contents of the gut. Clinical studies have shown that protein ingestion produces a more prolonged response in these nerve fibers compared to an equivalent amount of glucose. Additionally, the activation of stretch receptors caused by GI...
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The sympathetic division can influence tissues and organs by releasing norepinephrine at peripheral synapses and distributing epinephrine and norepinephrine through the bloodstream. In times of crisis or stress, sympathetic activation occurs, which is regulated by sympathetic centers in the hypothalamus. As a result, sympathetic activation prepares the body for physical exertion, rapid ATP production, and heightened alertness, allowing individuals to respond effectively to challenging or...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 4, 2025

Studying Food Reward and Motivation in Humans
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Higher body weight-dependent neural activation during reward processing.

Maike Richter1,2, Sophia Widera1, Franziska Malz1

  • 1Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany.

Brain Imaging and Behavior
|April 3, 2023
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Higher body mass index (BMI) is linked to increased brain reward system activity, particularly in the insula. This overactivation is most pronounced in obesity and may not extend to overweight individuals.

Keywords:
BMIInsulaObesityReward processingfMRI

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Obesity Research

Background:

  • Obesity is linked to brain structural and functional changes, especially in reward processing areas.
  • Previous functional neuroimaging studies often used small samples and contrasted only normal weight and obese individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To replicate findings of reward circuit hyperresponsiveness in well-powered studies.
  • To investigate if reward circuit alterations occur as a function of increasing body weight, even below the obesity threshold.

Main Methods:

  • Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used in 383 adults across a weight spectrum during a monetary reward task.
  • Multiple regression analyzed the association between body mass index (BMI) and neural activation in the reward circuit.
  • One-way ANOVA compared neural activation across normal weight, overweight, and obese groups.

Main Results:

  • Higher BMI correlated with increased reward response in the bilateral insula.
  • This association was not significant when participants with obesity were excluded.
  • ANOVA showed higher insula activation in obese versus normal weight individuals, but no difference between normal weight and overweight groups.

Conclusions:

  • Reward circuit overactivation in obesity is replicable in large samples.
  • Unlike structural changes, altered reward processing in the insula appears specific to the higher end of the weight spectrum, particularly obesity.