| 1. |
- Wiemerslage, Lyle, et al.
(författare)
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An obesity-associated risk allele within the FTO gene affects human brain activity for areas important for emotion, impulse control and reward in response to food images
- 2016
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Ingår i: European Journal of Neuroscience. - : Wiley. - 0953-816X .- 1460-9568. ; 43:9, s. 1173-1180
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Understanding how genetics influences obesity, brain activity and eating behaviour will add important insight for developing strategies for weight-loss treatment, as obesity may stem from different causes and as individual feeding behaviour may depend on genetic differences. To this end, we examined how an obesity risk allele for the FTO gene affects brain activity in response to food images of different caloric content via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty participants homozygous for the rs9939609 single nucleotide polymorphism were shown images of low-or high-calorie food while brain activity was measured via fMRI. In a whole-brain analysis, we found that people with the FTO risk allele genotype (AA) had increased activity compared with the non-risk (TT) genotype in the posterior cingulate, cuneus, precuneus and putamen. Moreover, higher body mass index in the AA genotype was associated with reduced activity to food images in areas important for emotion (cingulate cortex), but also in areas important for impulse control (frontal gyri and lentiform nucleus). Lastly, we corroborate our findings with behavioural scales for the behavioural inhibition and activation systems. Our results suggest that the two genotypes are associated with differential neural processing of food images, which may influence weight status through diminished impulse control and reward processing.
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| 2. |
- Cao, Hao
(författare)
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Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate Increases Insulin Expression and Lipid Levels in Drosophila melanogaster
- 2016
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Ingår i: Basic & Clinical Pharmacology & Toxicology. - : Wiley. - 1742-7835 .- 1742-7843.
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bis-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is one of the most widely used plasticizers, and human beings are exposed toDEHP via polyvinyl chloride (PVC) materials, medical equipment and even drinking water. While DEHP has been implicated to influence metabolism and endocrine functions, important questions remain about the molecular mechanisms of these effects. We employed the model organism Drosophila melanogaster and examined physiological, molecular and behavioural effects fromDEHP-contaminated food. We found that DEHP, at levels comparable to human exposure, made male flies more resistant to starvation and increased lipid levels, while decreasing circulating carbohydrates. Moreover, DEHP-fed male flies had higher expression levels of an insulin-like peptide known to regulate metabolism, as well as the insulin receptor. Our results suggest that long term DEHP feeding may induce diabetes-like dysfunctions. These findings provide a molecular background of how DEHP mayhave detrimental effects on metabolic functions.
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| 3. |
- Gaudio, Santino, et al.
(författare)
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A systematic review of resting-state functional-MRI studies in anorexia nervosa : Evidence for functional connectivity impairment in cognitive control and visuospatial and body-signal integration
- 2016
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Ingår i: Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0149-7634 .- 1873-7528. ; 71, s. 578-589
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This paper systematically reviews the literature pertaining to the use of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) in anorexia nervosa (AN), classifying studies on the basis of different analysis approaches. We followed PRISMA guidelines. Fifteen papers were included, investigating a total of 294 participants with current or past AN and 285 controls. The studies used seed-based, whole-brain independent component analysis (ICA), network-of-interest ICA based and graph analysis approaches. The studies showed relatively consistent overlap in results, yet little overlap in their analytical approach and/or a-priori assumptions. Functional connectivity alterations were mainly found in the corticolimbic circuitry, involved in cognitive control and visual and homeostatic integration. Some overlapping findings were found in brain areas putatively important in AN, such as the insula. These results suggest altered functional connectivity in networks/areas linked to the main symptom domains of AN, such as impaired cognitive control and body image disturbances. These preliminary evidences suggest that more targeted treatments need to be developed that focus on these two symptom domains. Further studies with multi-approach analyses and longitudinal designs are needed to better understand the complexity of AN.
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| 4. |
- Gaudio, Santino, et al.
(författare)
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Higher fresh fruit intake relates to larger grey matter volumes in areas involved in dementia and depression : A UK Biobank study
- 2023
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Ingår i: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 283
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The benefits of consuming fruits and vegetables are widely accepted. While previous studies suggest a protective role of fruits and vegetables against a variety of diseases such as dementia and depression, the biological mechanisms/effects remain unclear. Here we investigated the effect of fruit and vegetable consumption on brain structure. Particularly on grey matter (GM) and white matter (WM) volumes, regional GM volumes and subcortical volumes. Cross-sectional imaging data from UK Biobank cohort was used. A total of 9925 participants (Mean age 62.4 +/- 7.5 years, 51.1 % men) were included in the present analysis. Measures included fruit and vegetable intake, other dietary patterns and a number of selected lifestyle factors and clinical data. Brain volumes were derived from structural brain magnetic resonance imaging. General linear model was used to study the associations between brain volumes and fruit/vegetable intakes. After adjusting for selected confounding factors, salad/raw vegetable intake showed a positive association with total white matter volume, fresh fruit intake showed a negative association with total grey matter (GM) volume. Regional GM analyses showed that higher fresh fruit intake was associated with larger GM volume in the left hippocampus, right temporal occipital fusiform cortex, left postcentral gyrus, right precentral gyrus, and right juxtapositional lobule cortex. We conclude that fruit and vegetable consumption seems to specifically modulate brain volumes. In particular, fresh fruit intake may have a protective role in specific cortical areas such as the hippocampus, areas robustly involved in the pathophysiology of dementia and depression.
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| 5. |
- Hogenkamp, Pleunie S., et al.
(författare)
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Higher resting-state activity in reward-related brain circuits in obese versus normal-weight females independent of food intake
- 2016
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Ingår i: International Journal of Obesity. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0307-0565 .- 1476-5497. ; 40:11, s. 1687-1692
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BACKGROUND: In response to food cues, obese vs normal-weight individuals show greater activation in brain regions involved in the regulation of food intake under both fasted and sated conditions. Putative effects of obesity on task-independent low-frequency blood-oxygenation-level-dependent signals-that is, resting-state brain activity-in the context of food intake are, however, less well studied.OBJECTIVE: To compare eyes closed, whole-brain low-frequency BOLD signals between severely obese and normal-weight females, as assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).METHODS: Fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations were measured in the morning following an overnight fast in 17 obese (age: 39±11 years, body mass index (BMI): 42.3±4.8 kg m(-)(2)) and 12 normal-weight females (age: 36±12 years, BMI: 22.7±1.8 kg m(-)(2)), both before and 30 min after consumption of a standardized meal (~260 kcal).RESULTS: Compared with normal-weight controls, obese females had increased low-frequency activity in clusters located in the putamen, claustrum and insula (P<0.05). This group difference was not altered by food intake. Self-reported hunger dropped and plasma glucose concentrations increased after food intake (P<0.05); however, these changes did not differ between the BMI groups.CONCLUSION: Reward-related brain regions are more active under resting-state conditions in obese than in normal-weight females. This difference was independent of food intake under the experimental settings applied in the current study. Future studies involving males and females, as well as utilizing repeated post-prandial resting-state fMRI scans and various types of meals are needed to further investigate how food intake alters resting-state brain activity in obese humans.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 28 June 2016; doi:10.1038/ijo.2016.105.
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| 6. |
- Olivo, Gaia, et al.
(författare)
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Atypical anorexia nervosa is not related to brain structural changes in newly diagnosed adolescent patients.
- 2018
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Ingår i: International Journal of Eating Disorders. - : Wiley. - 0276-3478 .- 1098-108X. ; 51:1, s. 39-45
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Patients with atypical anorexia nervosa (AN) have many features overlapping with AN in terms of genetic risk, age of onset, psychopathology and prognosis of outcome, although the weight loss may not be a core factor. While brain structural alterations have been reported in AN, there are currently no data regarding atypical AN patients.METHOD: We investigated brain structure through a voxel-based morphometry analysis in 22 adolescent females newly-diagnosed with atypical AN, and 38 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HC). ED-related psychopathology, impulsiveness and obsessive-compulsive traits were assessed with the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11) and Obsessive-compulsive Inventory Revised (OCI-R), respectively. Body mass index (BMI) was also calculated.RESULTS: Patients and HC differed significantly on BMI (p < .002), EDE-Q total score (p < .000) and OCI-R total score (p < .000). No differences could be detected in grey matter (GM) regional volume between groups.DISCUSSION: The ED-related cognitions in atypical AN patients would suggest that atypical AN and AN could be part of the same spectrum of restrictive-ED. However, contrary to previous reports in AN, our atypical AN patients did not show any GM volume reduction. The different degree of weight loss might play a role in determining such discrepancy. Alternatively, the preservation of GM volume might indeed differentiate atypical AN from AN.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Olivo, Gaia, et al.
(författare)
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Disruption of Accumbens and Thalamic White Matter Connectivity Revealed by Diffusion Tensor Tractography in Young Men with Genetic Risk for Obesity
- 2018
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 1662-5161. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Neurovascular coupling is associated with white matter (WM) structural integrity, and it is regulated by specific subtypes of dopaminergic receptors. An altered activity of such receptors, highly expressed in reward-related regions, has been reported in carriers of obesity-risk alleles of the fat mass and obesity associated (FTO) gene. Among the reward-related regions, the thalamus and the nucleus accumbens are particularly vulnerable to blood pressure dysregulation due to their peculiar anatomo-vascular characteristics, and have been consistently reported to be altered in early-stage obesity. We have thus hypothesized that a disruption in thalamus and nucleus accumbens WM microstructure, possibly on neurovascular basis, could potentially be a predisposing factor underlying the enhanced risk for obesity in the risk-allele carriers.Methods: We have tested WM integrity in 21 male participants genotyped on the FTO risk single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) rs9939609, through a deterministic tractography analysis. Only homozygous participants (9 AA, 12 TT) were included. 11 tracts were selected and categorized as following according to our hypothesis: “risk tracts”, “obesity-associated tracts”, and a control tract (forcpes major). We investigated whether an association existed between genotype, body mass index (BMI) and WM microstructural integrity in the “risk-tracts” (anterior thalamic radiation and accumbofrontal fasciculus) compared to other tracts. Moreover, we explored whether WM diffusivity could be related to specific personality traits in terms of punishment and reward sensitivity, as measure by the BIS/BAS questionnaire.Results: An effect of the genotype and an interaction effect of genotype and BMI were detected on the fractional anisotropy (FA) of the “risk tracts”. Correlations between WM diffusivity parameters and measures of punishment and reward sensitivity were also detected in many WM tracts of both networks.Conclusions: A disruption of the structural connectivity from the nucleus accumbens and the thalamus might occur early in carriers of the FTO AA risk-allele, and possibly act as a predisposing factor to the development of obesity.
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| 9. |
- Olivo, Gaia, et al.
(författare)
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Limbic-thalamo-cortical projections and reward-related circuitry integrity affects eating behavior : A longitudinal DTI study in adolescents with restrictive eating disorders
- 2017
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Ingår i: PLOS ONE. - : Public Library of Science (PLoS). - 1932-6203. ; 12:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Few studies have used diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the micro-structural alterations of WM in patients with restrictive eating disorders (rED), and longitudinal data are lacking. Twelve patients with rED were scanned at diagnosis and after one year of family-based treatment, and compared to twenty-four healthy controls (HCs) through DTI analysis. A tract-based spatial statistics procedure was used to investigate diffusivity parameters: fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean, radial and axial diffusivities (MD, RD and AD, respectively). Reduced FA and increased RD were found in patients at baseline in the corpus callosum, corona radiata and posterior thalamic radiation compared with controls. However, no differences were found between follow-up patients and controls, suggesting a partial normalization of the diffusivity parameters. In patients, trends for a negative correlation were found between the baseline FA of the right anterior corona radiata and the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire total score, while a positive trend was found between the baseline FA in the splenium of corpus callosum and the weight loss occurred between maximal documented weight and time of admission. A positive trend for correlation was also found between baseline FA in the right anterior corona radiata and the decrease in the Obsessive-Compulsive Inventory Revised total score over time. Our results suggest that the integrity of the limbic-thalamo-cortical projections and the reward-related circuitry are important for cognitive control processes and reward responsiveness in regulating eating behavior.
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| 10. |
- Olivo, Gaia, et al.
(författare)
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Resting-state brain connectivity changes in obese women after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery : A longitudinal study
- 2017
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 7:1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Bariatric surgery is an effective method to rapidly induce weight loss in severely obese people, however its impact on brain functional connectivity after longer periods of follow-up is yet to be assessed. We investigated changes in connectivity in 16 severely obese women one month before, one month after and one year after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery (RYGB). 12 lean controls were also enrolled. Resting-state fMRI was acquired for all participants following an overnight fast and after a 260 kcal load. Connectivity between regions involved in food-related saliency attribution and reward-driven eating behavior was stronger in presurgery patients compared to controls, but progressively weakened after follow-up. At one year, changes in networks related to cognitive control over eating and bodily perception also occurred. Connectivity between regions involved in emotional control and social cognition had a temporary reduction early after treatment but had increased again after one year of follow-up. Furthermore, we could predict the BMI loss by presurgery connectivity in areas linked to emotional control and social interaction. RYGBP seems to reshape brain functional connectivity, early affecting cognitive control over eating, and these changes could be an important part of the therapeutic effect of bariatric surgery.
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