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Comparative Study
. 2011 Apr 22:1386:109-17.
doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2011.02.071. Epub 2011 Mar 24.

Reduced nucleus accumbens and caudate nucleus activation to a pleasant taste is associated with obesity in older adults

Erin Green  1 , Aaron Jacobson, Lori Haase, Claire Murphy
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Reduced nucleus accumbens and caudate nucleus activation to a pleasant taste is associated with obesity in older adults

Erin Green et al. Brain Res. .

Abstract

Although obesity is recognized as a global health epidemic, insufficient research has been directed to understanding the rising prevalence of obesity in the fastest growing segment of the population, older adults. Late-life obesity has been linked to declines in physical health and cognitive function, with implications not only for the individual, but also for society. We investigated the hypothesis that altered brain responses to food reward is associated with obesity, using fMRI of response to pleasant and aversive taste stimuli in young and older adults performing a hedonic evaluation task. Correlations between higher levels of abdominal fat/body mass index and reduced fMRI activation to sucrose in dopamine-related brain regions (caudate, nucleus accumbens) were large in older adults. Significant associations between a hypofunctioning reward response and obesity suggest the hypothesis that decreased dopamine functioning may be a plausible mechanism for weight gain in older adults.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(a) Association between waist circumference (cm) and right amygdala activation in older adults (R2 = .32). (b) Association between waist circumference (cm) and right caudate tail activation in older adults (R2 = .43). (c) Association between waist circumference (cm) and left nucleus accumbens activation in older adults (R2 = .52).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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