Aerobic exercise reduces neuronal responses in food reward brain regions
Abstract
Acute exercise suppresses ad libitum energy intake, but little is known about the effects of exercise on food reward brain regions. After an overnight fast, 30 (17 men, 13 women), healthy, habitually active (age = 22.2 ± 0.7 yr, body mass index = 23.6 ± 0.4 kg/m 2, V̇o 2peak = 44.2 ± 1.5 ml·kg−1·min−1) individuals completed 60 min of exercise on a cycle ergometer or 60 min of rest (no-exercise) in a counterbalanced, crossover fashion. After each condition, blood oxygen level-dependent responses to high-energy food, low-energy food, and control visual cues, were measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Exercise, compared with no-exercise, significantly ( P < 0.005) reduced the neuronal response to food (high and low food) cues vs. control cues in the insula (−0.37 ± 0.13 vs. +0.07 ± 0.18%), putamen (−0.39 ± 0.10 vs. −0.10 ± 0.09%), and rolandic operculum (−0.37 ± 0.17 vs. 0.17 ± 0.12%). Exercise alone significantly ( P < 0.005) reduced the neuronal response to high food vs. control and low food vs. control cues in the inferior orbitofrontal cortex (−0.94 ± 0.33%), insula (−0.37 ± 0.13%), and putamen (−0.41 ± 0.10%). No-exercise alone significantly ( P < 0.005) reduced the neuronal response to high vs. control and low vs. control cues in the middle (−0.47 ± 0.15%) and inferior occipital gyrus (−1.00 ± 0.23%). Exercise reduced neuronal responses in brain regions consistent with reduced pleasure of food, reduced incentive motivation to eat, and reduced anticipation and consumption of food. Reduced neuronal response in these food reward brain regions after exercise is in line with the paradigm that acute exercise suppresses subsequent energy intake.
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60 min of exercise among habitual exercisers reduced activation in the putamen and peri-insular brain regions to high-energy food cues.
“In a similar study using a crossover design (85), 60 min of exercise among habitual exercisers reduced activation in the putamen and peri-insular brain regions to high-energy food cues.”
From The Role of Exercise in Management of Mental Health Disorders: An Integrative Review (2021) · cites this paper as [85]
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- Authors
- Evero, N., Hackett, L. C., Clark, R. D., Phelan, S., & Hagobian, T. A.
- Affiliations
- California Polytechnic State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hagobian, Todd A.
- Venue
- Journal of Applied Physiology
- Publisher
- American Physiological Society
- Published
- 2012-05-01
- Volume
- 112
- Issue
- 9
- Pages
- 1612-1619
- ISSN
- 0161-7567 (ISSN-L)
- 8750-7587
- 1522-1601
- OpenAlex
- W1971433552
- Cited by
- 150
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 6 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 12 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 13 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 5.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Applied Physiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- 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
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Keywords
- aerobic exercise, food reward, food cues, neural responses, energy intake, insula, putamen, rolandic operculum, food anticipation, incentive motivation
- MeSH terms
- Attention, Bicycling, Brain, Brain Mapping, California, Energy Intake, Cues, Eating, Female, Food, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Oxygen, Photic Stimulation, Reward, Time Factors, Visual Pathways, Visual Perception, Exercise, Down-Regulation, Cross-Over Studies, Young Adult
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