title: Association of leptin with food cue-induced activation in human reward pathways.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Overlapping neurobiological pathways between obesity and addiction disorders are currently in discussion. Whereas the hypothalamic regulation of energy homeostasis by endocrine feedback signals has been widely investigated, its interplay with mesolimbic reward-associated pathways represents a rich field of future research.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess changes in regional brain activation in response to food-related cues in association with body mass index (BMI; calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared) and the plasma concentration of the appetite-regulating peptide leptin.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case-control study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic addiction and brain imaging center, Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim, Germany.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one obese subjects (BMI >30) and 23 age- and sex-matched nonobese control subjects (BMI 18.5-24.0) recruited by advertisements.
  
  
  METHODS
  Regional brain activation (blood oxygen level-dependent response) in response to visual cue presentation and association of the brain activation with BMI and plasma leptin concentration.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant positive relationships were observed for food cue-induced brain activations in the ventral striatum in association with the plasma concentration of leptin (r = 0.27; P = .04) and with BMI (r = 0.47; P = .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Data suggest a physiological role of satiety factors in modulating the responsivity of mesolimbic circuits to food cues. Moreover, an altered homeostatic feedback regulation of reward pathways might explain addictionlike behavior and the inability of obese patients to adapt food intake to physiological needs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Addictive Behavior and Addiction Medicine, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, J5/68159 Mannheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Grosshans
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vollmert
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vollstädt-Klein
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tost
authors.forename: Saskia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Leber
authors.forename: Patrick
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bach
authors.forename: Mira
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bühler
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: von der Goltz
authors.forename: Jochen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mutschler
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Loeber
authors.forename: Derik
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.forename: Klaus
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wiedemann
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Meyer-Lindenberg
authors.forename: Falk
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kiefer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001069:Appetite Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D012201:Reward
chemical_list: D020738:Leptin