Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 8, 2026
Studying Brain Function in Children Using Magnetoencephalography
Published on: April 8, 2019
Elevated body mass index in youth is associated with neural disinhibition and internetwork functional
A C Reichelt1, E Daskalakis2, J Cohen3
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Western University, London, ON, Canada; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
Objective:
The developing brain has a vulnerability to the negative impact of obesity and excessive consumption of hyperpalatable foods. Animal models suggest changes in the excitation:inhibition balance of the brain in obesogenic diets, including disinhibition and hyperexcitability, and altered connectivity between brain regions.
Methods:
We investigated the neurophysiological effects of overweight and obesity in 32youth (8-19 years), using a naturalistic viewing protocol with magnetoencephalography (MEG). Subjects were recruited into two groups based on normalised / z-scored body mass index (zBMI), a < 1 SD group (n = 15) and ≥ 1 SD group (n = 17). We assessed spontaneous oscillatory activity and aperiodic components (spectral exponent and offset) and network functional connectivity.
Results:
Elevated zBMI was associated with significant increases in gamma activity, as well as a reduced exponent and offset across multiple regions, which suggest changes in neural excitation and inhibition. Additionally, we observed low frequency hypoconnectivity and high frequency hyperconnectivity between multiple brain networks.
Conclusions:
These findings underscore the neural impact of body composition on the developing brain, suggesting deleterious alterations in excitation and inhibition and brain networks linked with cognition and behaviour.
Significance:
These alterations may contribute to the persistent behavioural rigidity and difficulties in adopting healthier eating behaviours into adulthood.
