Central insulin modulates food valuation via mesolimbic pathways
Open accessAbstract
Central insulin is thought to act at the neural interface between metabolic and hedonic drives to eat. Here, using pharmacological fMRI, we show that intranasal insulin (INI) changes the value of food cues through modulation of mesolimbic pathways. Overnight fasted participants rated the palatability of food pictures and attractiveness of non-food items (control) after receiving INI or placebo. We report that INI reduces ratings of food palatability and value signals in mesolimbic regions in individuals with normal insulin sensitivity. Connectivity analyses reveal insulinergic inhibition of forward projections from the ventral tegmentum to the nucleus accumbens. Importantly, the strength of this modulation predicts decrease of palatability ratings, directly linking neural findings to behaviour. In insulin-resistant participants however, we observe reduced food values and aberrant central insulin action. These data demonstrate how central insulin modulates the cross-talk between homeostatic and non-homeostatic feeding systems, suggesting that dysfunctions of these neural interactions may promote metabolic disorders.
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Results and related fMRI experiments including men and women do not support the idea that sensitivity to the anorexigenic impact of insulin is reduced in females compared to males.
“These results and related experiments using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 63 which included men and women, do not support the idea that the sensitivity to the anorexigenic impact of insulin is reduced in females compared to males.”
From Intranasal insulin (2021) · cites this paper as [63]
Connectivity analyses of neuroimaging results obtained in men and women have corroborated that IN insulin inhibits VTA-NAc projections.
“connectivity analyses of neuroimaging results obtained in men and women have corroborated that IN insulin inhibits VTA-NAc projections.63”
From Intranasal insulin (2021) · cites this paper as [63]
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Tiedemann, L. J., Schmid, S. M., Hettel, J., Giesen, K., Francke, P., Büchel, C., & Brassen, S.
- Affiliations
- University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DE)
- Corresponding author
- Brassen, Stefanie
- Venue
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2017-07-18
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 16052-16052
- ISSN
- 2041-1723 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5520049
- OpenAlex
- W2738415419
- Cited by
- 113
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 18 · 2020: 8 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 4
- FWCI
- 5.69
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Nature Communications (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (TR-SFB 134)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Keywords
- intranasal insulin, food valuation, palatability, mesolimbic system, ventral tegmental area, nucleus accumbens, insulin resistance, food reward, metabolic disorders
- MeSH terms
- Administration, Intranasal, Adult, Appetite Regulation, Feeding Behavior, Female, Food Preferences, Humans, Insulin, Insulin Resistance, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Nucleus Accumbens, Ventral Tegmental Area
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