Cited by 79Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and ApplicationsFunctional Brain Connectivity StudiesEating Disorders and Behaviors

Patterns of brain structural connectivity differentiate normal weight from overweight subjects

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Gupta, Arpana, Mayer, Emeran A., Sanmiguel, Claudia P., Van Horn, John D., Woodworth, Davis, Ellingson, Benjamin M., Fling, Connor, Love, Aubrey +2 more·2015·NeuroImage: Clinical

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Alterations in the hedonic component of ingestive behaviors have been implicated as a possible risk factor in the pathophysiology of overweight and obese individuals. Neuroimaging evidence from individuals with increasing body mass index suggests structural, functional, and neurochemical alterations in the extended reward network and associated networks. AIM: To apply a multivariate pattern analysis to distinguish normal weight and overweight subjects based on gray and white-matter measurements. METHODS: Structural images (N = 120, overweight N = 63) and diffusion tensor images (DTI) (N = 60, overweight N = 30) were obtained from healthy control subjects. For the total sample the mean age for the overweight group (females = 32, males = 31) was 28.77 years (SD = 9.76) and for the normal weight group (females = 32, males = 25) was 27.13 years (SD = 9.62). Regional segmentation and parcellation of the brain images was performed using Freesurfer. Deterministic tractography was performed to measure the normalized fiber density between regions. A multivariate pattern analysis approach was used to examine whether brain measures can distinguish overweight from normal weight individuals. RESULTS: 1. White-matter classification: The classification algorithm, based on 2 signatures with 17 regional connections, achieved 97% accuracy in discriminating overweight individuals from normal weight individuals. For both brain signatures, greater connectivity as indexed by increased fiber density was observed in overweight compared to normal weight between the reward network regions and regions of the executive control, emotional arousal, and somatosensory networks. In contrast, the opposite pattern (decreased fiber density) was found between ventromedial prefrontal cortex and the anterior insula, and between thalamus and executive control network regions. 2. Gray-matter classification: The classification algorithm, based on 2 signatures with 42 morphological features, achieved 69% accuracy in discriminating overweight from normal weight. In both brain signatures regions of the reward, salience, executive control and emotional arousal networks were associated with lower morphological values in overweight individuals compared to normal weight individuals, while the opposite pattern was seen for regions of the somatosensory network. CONCLUSIONS: 1. An increased BMI (i.e., overweight subjects) is associated with distinct changes in gray-matter and fiber density of the brain. 2. Classification algorithms based on white-matter connectivity involving regions of the reward and associated networks can identify specific targets for mechanistic studies and future drug development aimed at abnormal ingestive behavior and in overweight/obesity.

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  1. Lê Cao K.A. Rossouw D. Robert-Granié C. Besse P. A sparse PLS for variable selection when integrating omics data Stat. Appl. Genet. Mol. Biol. 7 1 2008 35 19049491 19049491
  2. Seeley W.W. Menon V. Schatzberg A.F. Keller J. Glover G.H. Kenna H. Reiss A.L. Greicius M.D. Dissociable intrinsic connectivity networks for salience processing and executive control J. Neurosci. 27 9 2007 2349 2356 17329432 17329432 PMC2680293

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Authors
Gupta, A., Mayer, E. A., Sanmiguel, C. P., Van Horn, J. D., Woodworth, D., Ellingson, B. M., Fling, C., Love, A., Tillisch, K., & Labus, J. S.
Affiliations
University of California, Los Angeles (US)
Corresponding author
Labus, Jennifer S.
Venue
NeuroImage: Clinical
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015
Volume
7
Pages
506-517
ISSN
2213-1582 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2090738496
Cited by
79
References
65
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 5
FWCI
7.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage Clinical (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (R01 DK048351, P50DK64539, R01 AT007137, P30 DK041301, K08 DK071626, R03 DK084169)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Radiology, Nuclear Medicine and Imaging › Advanced Neuroimaging Techniques and Applications
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
Keywords
overweight, obesity, structural brain connectivity, gray matter morphology, reward network, frontoparietal network, salience network, somatosensory network, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, thalamus, body mass index, hedonic eating, neuroimaging biomarkers, multivariate pattern classification, deterministic tractography
MeSH terms
Adult, Algorithms, Brain, Brain Mapping, Feeding Behavior, Female, Humans, Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Neural Pathways, Overweight, Diffusion Tensor Imaging

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