Neural mechanisms underlying food motivation in children and adolescents.
Dramatic increases in childhood obesity necessitate a more complete understanding of neural mechanisms of hunger and satiation in pediatric populations. In this study, normal weight children and adolescents underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning before and after eating a meal. Participants showed increased activation to visual food stimuli in the amygdala, medial frontal/orbitofrontal cortex, and insula in the pre-meal condition; no regions of interest responded in the post-meal condition. These results closely parallel previous findings in adults. In addition, we found evidence for habituation to food stimuli in the amygdala within the pre-meal session. These findings provide evidence that normal patterns of neural activity related to food motivation begin in childhood. Results have implications for obese children and adults, who may have abnormal hunger and satiation mechanisms.
Holsen
Laura M
LM
Hoglund Brain Imaging Center, University of Kansas Medical Center, KS 66160, USA.
Zarcone
Jennifer R
JR
Thompson
Travis I
TI
Brooks
William M
WM
Anderson
Mary F
MF
Ahluwalia
Jasjit S
JS
Nollen
Nicole L
NL
Savage
Cary R
CR
D000293:Adolescent; D000679:Amygdala / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger / Q000502:physiology; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D009042:Motivation; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D012527:Satiation / Q000502:physiology