title: Brain dopamine is associated with eating behaviors in humans.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Eating behavior in humans is influenced by variables other than just hunger-satiety including cognitive restraint, emotional distress, and sensitivity to food stimuli. We investigate the role of dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter involved with food motivation, in these variables.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) to measure Restraint, Emotionality, and Externality in 10 subjects. We correlated DEBQ scores with brain DA levels. Positron emission tomography and [(11)C]raclopride uptake were used to measure baseline D(2) receptors (neutral stimulation) and to assess changes in extracellular DA to food stimulation (display of food).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Restraint was correlated with DA changes with food stimulation (higher restraint, greater responsivity), emotionality was negatively correlated with baseline D(2) receptors (higher emotionality, lower D(2) receptors), whereas externality was not. These correlations were significant in the dorsal but not in the ventral striatum.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results provide evidence that DA in the dorsal striatum is involved with the restraint and emotionality components regulating eating behavior and that these two dimensions reflect different neurobiologic processes.
authors.affiliation: Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, New York 11973, USA. volkow@bnl.gov
authors.forename: Nora D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Volkow
authors.forename: Gene-Jack
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Maynard
authors.forename: Millard
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jayne
authors.forename: Joanna S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Logan
authors.forename: S John
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Gatley
authors.forename: Yu-Shin
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pappas
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism*; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020891:Raclopride; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014055:Tomography, Emission-Computed
chemical_list: D018492:Dopamine Antagonists; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D020891:Raclopride; D004298:Dopamine