title: Individual differences in nucleus accumbens activity to food and sexual images predict weight gain and sexual behavior.
abstract: Failures of self-regulation are common, leading to many of the most vexing problems facing contemporary society, from overeating and obesity to impulsive sexual behavior and STDs. One reason that people may be prone to engaging in unwanted behaviors is heightened sensitivity to cues related to those behaviors; people may overeat because of hyperresponsiveness to food cues, addicts may relapse following exposure to their drug of choice, and some people might engage in impulsive sexual activity because they are easily aroused by erotic stimuli. An open question is the extent to which individual differences in neural cue reactivity relate to actual behavioral outcomes. Here we show that individual differences in human reward-related brain activity in the nucleus accumbens to food and sexual images predict subsequent weight gain and sexual activity 6 months later. These findings suggest that heightened reward responsivity in the brain to food and sexual cues is associated with indulgence in overeating and sexual activity, respectively, and provide evidence for a common neural mechanism associated with appetitive behaviors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03755, USA. Kathryn_demos@brown.edu
authors.forename: Kathryn E
authors.initials: KE
authors.lastname: Demos
authors.forename: Todd F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Heatherton
authors.forename: William M
authors.initials: WM
authors.lastname: Kelley
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D007206:Individuality; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation / Q000502:physiology; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000098:blood supply / Q000502:physiology*; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012201:Reward; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D015430:Weight Gain; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen