Cited by 269Eating Disorders and BehaviorsNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesRegulation of Appetite and Obesity

Increased Prefrontal and Parahippocampal Activation with Reduced Dorsolateral Prefrontal and Insular Cortex Activation to Food Images in Obesity: A Meta-Analysis of fMRI Studies

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Brooks, Samantha J., Cedernaes, Jonathan, Schiöth, Helgi B.·2013·PLoS ONE

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Obesity is emerging as the most significant health concern of the twenty-first century. A wealth of neuroimaging data suggest that weight gain might be related to aberrant brain function, particularly in prefrontal cortical regions modulating mesolimbic addictive responses to food. Nevertheless, food addiction is currently a model hotly debated. Here, we conduct a meta-analysis of neuroimaging data, examining the most common functional differences between normal-weight and obese participants in response to food stimuli. DATA SOURCE: We conducted a search using several journal databases and adhered to the 'Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses' (PRISMA) method. To this aim, 10 studies were found with a total of 126 obese participants, 129 healthy controls, equaling 184 foci (146 increased, 38 decreased activation) using the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) technique. Out of the 10 studies, 7 investigated neural responses to food versus non-food images. RESULTS: In response to food images, obese in comparison to healthy weight subjects had increased activation in the left dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, right parahippocampal gyrus, right precentral gyrus and right anterior cingulate cortex, and reduced activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left insular cortex. CONCLUSIONS: Prefrontal cortex areas linked to cognitive evaluation processes, such as evaluation of rewarding stimuli, as well as explicit memory regions, appear most consistently activated in response to images of food in those who are obese. Conversely, a reduced activation in brain regions associated with cognitive control and interoceptive awareness of sensations in the body might indicate a weakened control system, combined with hypo-sensitivity to satiety and discomfort signals after eating in those who are prone to overeat.

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  1. [16]Talairach J, Tournoux P (1988) Co-planar stereotaxic atlas of the human brain: Translated by Mark Rayport. Vol, Thieme Classics.
  2. [19]van der Laan LN dRD, Viergever MA, Smeets PA (2011) The first taste is always with the eyes: a meta-analysis on the neural correlates of processing visual food cues. Neuroimage 55: 296– 303. 21111829

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Authors
Brooks, S. J., Cedernaes, J., & Schiöth, H. B.
Affiliations
Uppsala University (SE)
Corresponding author
Brooks, Samantha J.
Venue
PLoS ONE
Published
2013-04-10
Volume
8
Issue
4
Pages
e60393
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2069662727
Cited by
269
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 15 · 2025: 17 · 2024: 8 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 28 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 28 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 23 · 2014: 21 · 2013: 6
FWCI
3.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
Funders
  • Brain Research Foundation
  • Vetenskapsrådet
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
Keywords
obesity, food images, food reward, prefrontal cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, parahippocampal gyrus, insula, anterior cingulate cortex, cognitive control, interoceptive awareness, satiety, food addiction
MeSH terms
Food, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Obesity, Visual Perception, Case-Control Studies, Prefrontal Cortex

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