title: Regional cerebral blood flow during exposure to food in obese binge eating women.
abstract: Cerebral responses elicited by the sight of food were evaluated in eight obese binge eating, 11 obese and 12 normal-weight non-binge eating women. Regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was mapped while the subjects were looking at a picture of a landscape (control) or at a portion of food (food exposure), and was measured by [99mTc]ethyl-cysteine-dimer and single photon emission computed tomography. Exposure to food was associated with different changes in the cerebral blood flow (normalized to mean cerebellar counts) of the right and left hemispheres in the obese binge eating than in the obese or normal-weight non-binge eating women. As compared with the non-binge eating groups, the obese binge eating women had, due to food exposure, a greater increase in the cerebral blood flow in the left than right hemisphere, especially in the frontal and pre-frontal regions. In addition, strong linear correlations were observed in this group between the rCBF of the left frontal and pre-frontal regions and the increase in the feeling of hunger during the exposure to food. Left hemisphere and its frontal and pre-frontal regions could thus play a role in binge eating behavior in humans.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, 70211, Kuopio, Finland. leila.karhunen@uku.fi
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Karhunen
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Vanninen
authors.forename: J T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Kuikka
authors.forename: R I
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: Lappalainen
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tiihonen
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Uusitupa
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000150:complications*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000098:blood supply*; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000098:blood supply*; D012039:Regional Blood Flow / Q000502:physiology; D015899:Tomography, Emission-Computed, Single-Photon