Dataset Information

Mesolimbic white matter connectivity mediates the preference for sweet food.

ABSTRACT: Dopaminergic brain structures like the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are thought to encode the incentive salience of palatable foods motivating appetitive behaviour. Animal studies have identified neural networks mediating the regulation of hedonic feeding that comprise connections of the NAc with the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Here, we investigated how structural connectivity of these pathways relates to individual variability in decisions on sweet food consumption in humans. We therefore combined probabilistic tractography on diffusion imaging data from 45 overnight fasted lean to overweight participants with real decisions about high and low sugar food consumption. Across all individuals, sugar preference and connectivity strength were not directly related, however, multiple regression analysis revealed interaction of mesolimbic structure and sugar preference to depend on individuals' BMI score. In overweight individuals (BMI: ?25?kg/m², N?=?22) higher sugar preference was thereby specifically related to stronger connectivity within the VTA-NAc pathway while the opposite pattern emerged in participants with normal BMI (BMI: <25?kg/m², N?=?23). Our structural results complement previous functional findings on the critical role of the human mesolimbic system for regulating hedonic eating in overweight individuals.

SUBMITTER: Francke P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6416305 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Mesolimbic white matter connectivity mediates the preference for sweet food.

Francke Paul P Tiedemann Lena J LJ Menz Mareike M MM Beck Judith J Büchel Christian C Brassen Stefanie S

Scientific reports 20190313 1

Dopaminergic brain structures like the nucleus accumbens (NAc) are thought to encode the incentive salience of palatable foods motivating appetitive behaviour. Animal studies have identified neural networks mediating the regulation of hedonic feeding that comprise connections of the NAc with the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and the lateral hypothalamus (LH). Here, we investigated how structural connectivity of these pathways relates to individual variability in decisions on sweet food consumptio ...[more]

PMID: 30867529

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Project description:BackgroundExposure to food odours increases the appetite for congruent foods and decreases the appetite for incongruent foods. However, the effect of exposure to a variety of food odours, as often occurs in daily life, is unknown.ObjectiveInvestigate how switching between sweet and savoury odours affects the appetite for sweet and savoury products.DesignThirty women (age: 18-45y; BMI: 18.5-25kg/m2) intensely smelled the contents of cups filled with banana, meat or water (no-odour) in a within-subject design with four combinations: no-odour/banana, no-odour/meat, meat/banana and banana/meat. Participants received one combination per test day. In each combination, two cups with different fillings were smelled for five minutes after each other. Treatment order was balanced as much as possible. The effects of previous exposure and current odour on the appetite for (in)congruent sweet and savoury products, and odour pleasantness were analysed. A change from meat to banana odour or banana to meat odour was referred to as switch, whereas a change from no-odour to meat odour or no-odour to banana odour was no-switch.ResultsThe current odour (P<0.001), as opposed to the previous exposure (P = 0.71), determined the appetite for (in)congruent sweet and savoury products, already one minute after a switch between sweet and savoury odours. The pleasantness of the odour decreased during odour exposure (P = 0.005).ConclusionsAfter a switch, the appetite for specific products quickly adjusted to the new odour and followed the typical pattern as found during odour exposure in previous studies. Interestingly, the appetite for the smelled food remained elevated during odour exposure, known as sensory-specific appetite, whereas the pleasantness of the odour decreased over time, previously termed olfactory sensory-specific satiety. This seeming contradiction may result from different mechanisms underlying the odour-induced anticipation of food intake versus the decrease in hedonic value during prolonged sensory stimulation.

Dataset Information

Mesolimbic white matter connectivity mediates the preference for sweet food.

Publications

Mesolimbic white matter connectivity mediates the preference for sweet food.

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