| Popis: |
Obesity affects over 35% of US adults, and its contributors are multifactorial and complex. Neuroimaging is becoming a valuable tool in the study of obesity. The brain regulates appetite, energy homeostasis, and is involved in the processing of information that influences food-related decision-making based on sensory, emotional and neurohormonal input related to energy status. As a result of this complex neuroendocrine system, ingestive behaviors may be explained, at least in part, by the unique pattern of neural activation to food stimuli in specific brain regions of interest (ROIs). Reactions to food-related stimuli vary across individuals and impact food choice, timing of intake, and overall motivation to eat beyond physiological needs. Eating behaviors and associated psychological motivations related to food intake have previously been assessed by several self-report inventories. Among these, the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ) is widely used to assess three distinct and important components of ingestive behavior (disinhibition, cognitive restraint of eating, and susceptibility to hunger). If we are to understand the value of these measures in informing clinical intervention, understanding their associations with underlying neurophysiological processes is prudent. Thus, our aim is to better understand the intersection of psychological and neurophysiological influences on ingestive behavior (as measured by the TFEQ and fMRI respectively). This study represents a cross-sectional pilot analysis of baseline data obtained from the first 9 participants in a larger intervention study conducted at the Behavioral Medicine and Translational Research Lab and Texas Tech Neuroimaging Institute. Nine subjects (1 male; 8 female) with obesity (mean BMI 35.9 + 2.62, age 36.8 + 14.9, body fat % 47.3 + 4.38) were studied. Subjects were assessed using the TFEQ on all three subscales of cognitive restraint of eating, disinhibition and susceptibility to hunger in an fMRI study that utilized a Food-Cue Reactivity (FCR) paradigm (food images vs. non-food images). A negative correlation was seen between the disinhibition subscale and blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) activity in each of both the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and insular cortex. A negative correlation was also seen between BOLD response in the orbital frontal cortex and the cognitive restraint of eating subscale. These data, while limited, indicate that relationships do exist among subscales of the TFEQ and specific brain regions. Thus, this study serves as a starting point for more in depth analyses in the future using larger sample sizes to identify and better understand these relationships. Future fMRI studies of the psychological/behavioral influences on ingestive behavior (as measured by the TFEQ) are warranted. |
