Marion A Stopyra1,2, Hans-Christoph Friederich1, Sebastian Sailer1, Sabina Pauen3, Martin Bendszus4, Wolfgang Herzog1, Joe J Simon1. 1. Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany. 2. Psychological Institute, Heidelberg University, Germany. 3. Psychological Institute, Chair of Developmental and Biological Psychology, Heidelberg University, Germany. 4. Department of Neuroradiology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Germany.
Abstract
Objectives: Excess sugar consumption, particularly in the form of sweetened beverages, has been identified as a pivotal contributor to the epidemic of obesity and associated metabolic disorders. However, the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on food craving is still inconclusive. Therefore, the present study aimed to specifically investigate the effects of an intestinal glucose load on neural processing of food cues. Methods: Using a single-blind fMRI design, 26 normal-weight women were scanned on two occasions, after receiving either a glucose or water infusion directly into the stomach using a nasogastric tube, without being aware of the type of infusion. Participants had to either view neutral and food images, or were asked to distract themselves from these images by solving an arithmetic task. Results: In response to viewing high-caloric food cues, we observed increased activation in reward-related brain areas. During food distraction, fronto-parietal brain regions were recruited, which are commonly related to attentional deployment and hedonic valuation. Furthermore, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showed increased functional connectivity with the insula and was correlated with subjective craving levels to food cues. Despite an increase of blood glucose levels in response to the glucose compared to the water infusion, neither subjective food craving nor neural regulation of food craving showed significant differences. Conclusions: These findings support a decreased satiation effect of sweet beverages, as intestinal glucose ingestion and signalling showed no significant effect on cortical brain circuits associated with food craving. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03075371.
Objectives: Excess sugar consumption, particularly in the form of sweetened beverages, has been identified as a pivotal contributor to the epidemic of obesity and associated metabolic disorders. However, the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages on food craving is still inconclusive. Therefore, the present study aimed to specifically investigate the effects of an intestinal glucose load on neural processing of food cues. Methods: Using a single-blind fMRI design, 26 normal-weight women were scanned on two occasions, after receiving either a glucose or water infusion directly into the stomach using a nasogastric tube, without being aware of the type of infusion. Participants had to either view neutral and food images, or were asked to distract themselves from these images by solving an arithmetic task. Results: In response to viewing high-caloric food cues, we observed increased activation in reward-related brain areas. During food distraction, fronto-parietal brain regions were recruited, which are commonly related to attentional deployment and hedonic valuation. Furthermore, activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex showed increased functional connectivity with the insula and was correlated with subjective craving levels to food cues. Despite an increase of blood glucose levels in response to the glucose compared to the water infusion, neither subjective food craving nor neural regulation of food craving showed significant differences. Conclusions: These findings support a decreased satiation effect of sweet beverages, as intestinal glucose ingestion and signalling showed no significant effect on cortical brain circuits associated with food craving. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03075371.
Authors: Joe J Simon; Marion A Stopyra; Esther Mönning; Sebastian Sailer; Nora Lavandier; Lars P Kihm; Martin Bendszus; Hubert Preissl; Wolfgang Herzog; Hans-Christoph Friederich Journal: J Clin Invest Date: 2020-08-03 Impact factor: 14.808
Authors: Sabrina Jones; Shan Luo; Hilary M Dorton; Brendan Angelo; Alexandra G Yunker; John R Monterosso; Kathleen A Page Journal: Obesity (Silver Spring) Date: 2021-02 Impact factor: 5.002
Authors: Marion A Stopyra; Hans-Christoph Friederich; Esther Mönning; Nora Lavandier; Martin Bendszus; Wolfgang Herzog; Joe J Simon Journal: Psychol Med Date: 2020-01-14 Impact factor: 7.723
Authors: M A Stopyra; H-C Friederich; N Lavandier; E Mönning; M Bendszus; W Herzog; J J Simon Journal: Int J Obes (Lond) Date: 2021-08-17 Impact factor: 5.095