Persistence of abnormal neural responses to a meal in postobese individuals

We found no correlations between changes in the hippocampal blood flow and subjective ratings of hunger or fullness

A DelParigi

2003

Scholarcy highlights

  • Obesity is a progressive, chronic, and relapsing disease that represents the largest nutrition-related health problem inFood ingestion elicits multisensory responses, which include olfaction, taste, texture, and temperature, as well as changes in the peripheral and central concentrations of hormones and metabolites
  • The neurophysiology of postobese individuals may reveal central responses to nutritional stimuli that permit identification of regions of the brain involved in the development of the hyperphagia that leads to obesity
  • In two of the four regions of the brain showing significant differences in response to the meal between the obese and the lean individuals, data in the postobese individuals suggest that these differences are likely to be reversible with weight loss or to be unrelated to the pathophysiology of obesity
  • The persistence in the postobese subjects of abnormal responses in the middle insular cortex and hippocampus indicated that these responses may be involved in the pathophysiology of obesity
  • If the increased neural activity in the middle insula after tasting the meal reflects the contribution of the insular cortex to the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, it is possible that the obese and postobese subjects share this autonomic response in preparation for the consumption and digestion of food
  • It is unlikely that our findings are related to the central effect of insulin, since postmeal increases in plasma insulin concentrations were observed in all three groups, while neural activity decreased only in the posterior hippocampus of the obese and postobese subjects

Need more features? Save interactive summary cards to your Scholarcy Library.