title: The role of neural impulse control mechanisms for dietary success in obesity.
abstract: Deficits in impulse control are discussed as key mechanisms for major worldwide health problems such as drug addiction and obesity. For example, obese subjects have difficulty controlling their impulses to overeat when faced with food items. Here, we investigated the role of neural impulse control mechanisms for dietary success in middle-aged obese subjects. Specifically, we used a food-specific delayed gratification paradigm and functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure eating-related impulse-control in middle-aged obese subjects just before they underwent a twelve-week low calorie diet. As expected, we found that subjects with higher behavioral impulse control subsequently lost more weight. Furthermore, brain activity before the diet in VMPFC and DLPFC correlates with subsequent weight loss. Additionally, a connectivity analysis revealed that stronger functional connectivity between these regions is associated with better dietary success and impulse control. Thus, the degree to which subjects can control their eating impulses might depend on the interplay between control regions (DLPFC) and regions signaling the reward of food (VMPFC). This could potentially constitute a general mechanism that also extends to other disorders such as drug addiction or alcohol abuse.
authors.affiliation: Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Berlin Center for Advanced Neuroimaging, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany; Cluster of Excellence NeuroCure, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: martin.weygandt@bccn-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Weygandt
authors.forename: Knut
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mai
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dommes
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Leupelt
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hackmack
authors.forename: Thorsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kahnt
authors.forename: Yvonne
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Rothemund
authors.forename: Joachim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spranger
authors.forename: John-Dylan
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Haynes
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000503:physiopathology; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology*; D009765:Obesity / Q000503:physiopathology*; D012201:Reward; D015431:Weight Loss / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Diet; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Impulse-control; Impulsivity; Obesity