title: Disgust proneness and associated neural substrates in obesity.
abstract: Defects in experiencing disgust may contribute to obesity by allowing for the overconsumption of food. However, the relationship of disgust proneness and its associated neural locus has yet to be explored in the context of obesity. Thirty-three participants (17 obese, 16 lean) completed the Disgust Propensity and Sensitivity Scale-Revised and a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm where images from 4 categories (food, contaminates, contaminated food or fixation) were randomly presented. Independent two-sample t-tests revealed significantly lower levels of Disgust Sensitivity for the obese group (mean score = 14.7) compared with the lean group (mean score = 17.6, P = 0.026). The obese group had less activation in the right insula than the lean group when viewing contaminated food images. Multiple regression with interaction analysis revealed one left insula region where the association of Disgust Sensitivity scores with activation differed by group when viewing contaminated food images. These interaction effects were driven by the negative correlation of Disgust Sensitivity scores with beta values extracted from the left insula in the obese group (r = -0.59) compared with a positive correlation in the lean group (r = 0.65). Given these body mass index-dependent differences in Disgust Sensitivity and neural responsiveness to disgusting food images, it is likely that altered Disgust Sensitivity may contribute to obesity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA, Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA, tristan.j.watkins@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Tristan J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA, Department of Psychology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Christina R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Di Iorio
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Bunmi O
authors.initials: BO
authors.lastname: Olatunji
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Margaret M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Benningfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer U
authors.initials: JU
authors.lastname: Blackford
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Schools of Medicine and Nursing, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Mary S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Dietrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Monisha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Justin D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Theiss
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Salomon
authors.affiliation: Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA, Tennessee Valley Healthcare System, Nashville, TN, USA, and.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Niswender
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA, Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA, Department of Radiology and Radiological Sciences, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Cowan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex; D004435:Eating; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D005506:Food Contamination; D007839:Functional Laterality; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D006963:Hyperphagia / Q000523:psychology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009765:Obesity / Q000523:psychology*; D010775:Photic Stimulation
keywords: BMI; disgust; fMRI; insula; obesity