title: The central nervous norepinephrine network links a diminished sense of emotional well-being to an increased body weight.
abstract: The neurobiological mechanisms linking obesity to emotional distress remain largely undiscovered.
  
  
  
  In this pilot study, we combined positron emission tomography, using the norepinephrine transporter (NET) tracer [(11)C]-O-methylreboxetine, with functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging, the Beck depression inventory (BDI), and the impact of weight on quality of life-Lite questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite), to investigate the role of norepinephrine in the severity of depression (BDI), as well as in the loss of emotional well-being with body weight (IWQOL-Lite).
  
  
  
  In a small group of lean-to-morbidly obese individuals (n=20), we show that an increased body mass index (BMI) is related to a lowered NET availability within the hypothalamus, known as the brain's homeostatic control site. The hypothalamus displayed a strengthened connectivity in relation to the individual hypothalamic NET availability to the anterior insula/frontal operculum, as well as the medial orbitofrontal cortex, assumed to host the primary and secondary gustatory cortex, respectively (n=19). The resting-state activity in these two regions was correlated positively to the BMI and IWQOL-Lite scores, but not to the BDI, suggesting that the higher the resting-state activity in these regions, and hence the higher the BMI, the stronger the negative impact of the body weight on the individual's emotional well-being was.
  
  
  
  This pilot study suggests that the loss in emotional well-being with weight is embedded within the central norepinephrine network.
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Melasch
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rullmann
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hilbert
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Luthardt
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Becker
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Patt
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.|Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Villringer
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.|Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arelin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lobsien
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Psychiatry, and Chemistry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA.
authors.forename: Y-S
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Müller
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sabri
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hesse
authors.affiliation: IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany.|Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.|Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pleger
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000378:metabolism; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism*; D050484:Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011594:Psychometrics; D011788:Quality of Life; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D050484:Norepinephrine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; D019275:Radiopharmaceuticals; D009638:Norepinephrine