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. 2015 Mar;24(1):90-4.
doi: 10.5607/en.2015.24.1.90. Epub 2015 Jan 21.

Asymmetry of Dopamine D2/3 Receptor Availability in Dorsal Putamen and Body Mass Index in Non-obese Healthy Males

Sang Soo Cho  1 , Eun Jin Yoon  1 , Sang Eun Kim  2
Affiliations

Asymmetry of Dopamine D2/3 Receptor Availability in Dorsal Putamen and Body Mass Index in Non-obese Healthy Males

Sang Soo Cho et al. Exp Neurobiol. 2015 Mar.

Abstract

The dopaminergic system is involved in the regulation of food intake, which is crucial for the maintenance of body weight. We examined the relationship between striatal dopamine (DA) D2/3 receptor availability and body mass index (BMI) in 25 non-obese healthy male subjects using [(11)C]raclopride and positron emission tomography. None of [(11)C]raclopride binding potential (BP) values (measures of DA D2/3 receptor availability) in striatal subregions (dorsal caudate, dorsal putamen, and ventral striatum) in the left and right hemispheres was significantly correlated with BMI. However, there was a positive correlation between the right-left asymmetry index of [(11)C]raclopride BP in the dorsal putamen and BMI (r=0.43, p<0.05), suggesting that greater BMI is linked with higher receptor availability in the right dorsal putamen relative to the left in non-obese individuals. The present results, combined with previous findings, may also suggest neurochemical mechanisms underlying the regulation of food intake in non-obese individuals.

Keywords: Dopamine; asymmetry; body mass index; striatum.

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Conflict of interest statement

We state that there is no conflict of interest for this article.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Example of parametric [11C] raclopride BP image in one subject (Left; transformed in to MNI standard space) and map of predefined ROI for striatum (Right).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Relationship between the AIBP and BMI in the dorsal putamen. The asymmetry index of BP (AIBP) was calculated as (right-left)/(right+left), so that a positive value indicates higher AIBP in the right side relative to the left (r=0.43, p<0.05; two-tailed Pearson correlation).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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