The DOI matches its Crossref record; 30 of the 30 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Brain dopamine and obesity
Abstract
Background The cerebral mechanisms underlying the behaviours that lead to pathological overeating and obesity are poorly understood. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter that modulates rewarding properties of food, is likely to be involved. To test the hypothesis that obese individuals have abnormalities in brain dopamine activity we measured the availability of dopamine D2 receptors in brain.Methods Brain dopamine D2 receptor availability was measured with positron emission tomography (PET) and [C-11]raclopride (a radioligand for the dopamine D2 receptor). Bmax/Kd (ratio of the distribution volumes in striatum to that in cerebellum minus 1) was used as a measure of dopamine D2 receptor availability. Brain glucose metabolism was also assessed with 2-deoxy-2[18F]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG).Findings Striatal dopamine D2 receptor availability was significantly lower in the ten obese individuals (2.47 [SD 0.36]) than in controls (2.99 [0.41]; p < or = 0.0075). In the obese individuals body mass index (BMI) correlated negatively with the measures of D2 receptors (r=0.84; p < or = 0.002); the individuals with the lowest D2 values had the largest BMI. By contrast, neither whole brain nor striatal metabolism differed between obese individuals and controls, indicating that striatal reductions in D2 receptors were not due to a systematic reduction in radiotracer delivery.Interpretation The availability of dopamine D2 receptor was decreased in obese individuals in proportion to their BMI. Dopamine modulates motivation and reward circuits and hence dopamine deficiency in obese individuals may perpetuate pathological eating as a means to compensate for decreased activation of these circuits. Strategies aimed at improving dopamine function may be beneficial in the treatment of obese individuals.
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“In addition, the recurrent activation of the striatum may downregulate dopamine receptor availability and further heighten the drive to overeat (11).”
From Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men (2013) · cites this paper as [11]
In the citing paper
“This same reduction in D2R is also seen in obesity, internet addiction, and trait impulsivity (Wang et al 2001; Buckholtz et al 2010; Kim et al 2011).”
From The behavioral, anatomical and pharmacological parallels between social attachment, love and addiction (2012) · cites this paper as Wang et al 2001
In the citing paper
“For example, a landmark study showed that dopamine (DA) receptors were significantly lower in individuals with obesity [3].”
From Food Addiction and Psychosocial Adversity: Biological Embedding, Contextual Factors, and Public Health Implications (2020) · cites this paper as [3]
In the citing paper
“Obesity has been shown to be associated with low D2 receptor binding, and morbidly obese individuals with the lowest D2 values had the largest body mass index (de Weijer et al., 2011; Volkow et al., 2008; Wang et al., 2001), although this was not seen in one study (Steele et al., 2010).”
From Imaging addiction: D2 receptors and dopamine signaling in the striatum as biomarkers for impulsivity (2014) · cites this paper as Wang et al., 2001
In the citing paper
“Both preclinical and clinical studies have provided evidence of decreases in striatal D2R, which, through the NAc, are linked with reward and through the dorsal striatum with the establishment of habits and routines in obesity (80–82).”
From Obesity and addiction: Neurobiological overlaps (2013) · cites this paper as [81]
In the citing paper
“the negative correlation between BMI and striatal D2R reported in obese (81) and in overweight (96) individuals, as well as the correlation between BMI and decreased blood flow in prefrontal regions in healthy individuals (97,98) and decreased prefrontal metabolism in obese subjects (63) support this.”
From Obesity and addiction: Neurobiological overlaps (2013) · cites this paper as [81]
In the citing paper
“In addition to deficiencies identified at striatal DA-D2 receptors [89,90], individuals with obesity and BED have widespread reduction in binding at mu-opioid receptors (MOR) [91].”
From Separating the Signal from the Noise: How Psychiatric Diagnoses Can Help Discern Food Addiction from Dietary Restraint (2020) · cites this paper as [89]
In the citing paper
“Research with animals and humans has documented activation of brain reward regions and increased dopaminergic transmission with HP food cue exposure, along with concomitant increases in food craving and motivation”
From Role of addiction and stress neurobiology on food intake and obesity (2018) · cites this paper as Wang et al., 2001
In the citing paper
“Obesity is associated with lower striatal D2R availability, such that a higher body mass index (BMI) predicts lower receptor availability.121”
From Early life adversity and health-risk behaviors: Proposed psychological and neural mechanisms (2018) · cites this paper as [121]
In the citing paper
“Both preclinical and clinical studies have provided evidence of decreased striatal D2R signaling, which, as mentioned above, is linked with reward (NAc) but also with the establishment of habits and routines (dorsal striatum) in obesity (Geiger et al 2009;Wang et al 2001).”
From Food and Drug Reward: Overlapping Circuits in Human Obesity and Addiction (2011) · cites this paper as Wang et al 2001
In the citing paper
“Indeed, the negative correlation between BMI and striatal D2R reported in obese (Wang et al 2001) and in overweight (Haltia et al 2007a) individuals supports this.”
From Food and Drug Reward: Overlapping Circuits in Human Obesity and Addiction (2011) · cites this paper as Wang et al 2001
In the citing paper
“Of particular interest, striatal dopamine D 2 receptor availability was significantly lower in obese individuals than in nonobese matched controls (11), which raised the possibility that overeating may compensate for low dopaminergic activity.”
From Effects of dietary glycemic index on brain regions related to reward and craving in men (2013) · cites this paper as [11]
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Citations
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Sorted by citations
Dysfunction of the prefrontal cortex in addiction: neuroimaging findings and clinical implications
Goldstein, R. Z., & Volkow, N. D. (2011) · Nature Reviews Neuroscience · doi:10.1038/nrn3119 · Cited by 2,749
Self-citationDopamine D2 receptors in addiction-like reward dysfunction and compulsive eating in obese rats
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Metadata
- Authors
- Wang, G.-J., Volkow, N. D., Logan, J., Pappas, N. R., Wong, C. T., Zhu, W., Netusll, N., & Fowler, J. S.
- Affiliations
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (US)
- Stony Brook University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wang, Gene-Jack
- Venue
- The Lancet
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2001-02
- Volume
- 357
- Issue
- 9253
- Pages
- 354-357
- ISSN
- 0099-5355 (ISSN-L)
- 0140-6736
- OpenAlex
- W2164125772
- Cited by
- 1,864
- References
- 30
- Citations by year
- 2026: 19 · 2025: 65 · 2024: 64 · 2023: 69 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 100 · 2020: 79 · 2019: 74 · 2018: 78 · 2017: 96 · 2016: 126 · 2015: 123 · 2014: 121 · 2013: 105 · 2012: 117
- FWCI
- 14.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Lancet (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- U.S. Department of Energy
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (DA 06 891-02, R01DA006891)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Keywords
- obesity, dopamine D2 receptor, striatum, brain dopamine, food reward, body mass index, brain glucose metabolism, dopamine deficiency
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Analysis of Variance, Brain Mapping, Cerebellum, Corpus Striatum, Female, Glucose, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Tomography, Emission-Computed, Linear Models, Case-Control Studies, Receptors, Dopamine D2
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