title: Neural Processing of Calories in Brain Reward Areas Can be Modulated by Reward Sensitivity.
abstract: A food's reward value is dependent on its caloric content. Furthermore, a food's acute reward value also depends on hunger state. The drive to obtain rewards (reward sensitivity), however, differs between individuals. Here, we assessed the association between brain responses to calories in the mouth and trait reward sensitivity in different hunger states. Firstly, we assessed this in data from a functional neuroimaging study (van Rijn et al., 2015), in which participants (n = 30) tasted simple solutions of a non-caloric sweetener with or without a non-sweet carbohydrate (maltodextrin) during hunger and satiety. Secondly, we expanded these analyses to regular drinks by assessing the same relationship in data from a study in which soft drinks sweetened with either sucrose or a non-caloric sweetener were administered during hunger (n = 18) (Griffioen-Roose et al., 2013). First, taste activation by the non-caloric solution/soft drink was subtracted from that by the caloric solution/soft drink to eliminate sweetness effects and retain activation induced by calories. Subsequently, this difference in taste activation was correlated with reward sensitivity as measured with the BAS drive subscale of the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) questionnaire. When participants were hungry and tasted calories from the simple solution, brain activation in the right ventral striatum (caudate), right amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex (bilaterally) correlated negatively with BAS drive scores. In contrast, when participants were satiated, taste responses correlated positively with BAS drive scores in the left caudate. These results were not replicated for soft drinks. Thus, neural responses to oral calories from maltodextrin were modulated by reward sensitivity in reward-related brain areas. This was not the case for sucrose. This may be due to the direct detection of maltodextrin, but not sucrose in the oral cavity. Also, in a familiar beverage, detection of calories per se may be overruled by a conditioned response to its flavor. In conclusion, the brain reward response to calories from a long chain starch sugar (maltodextrin) varies with trait reward sensitivity. The absence of this effect in a familiar beverage warrants further research into its relevance for real life ingestive behavior.
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Inge
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: van Rijn
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Griffioen-Roose
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University and Research Centre Wageningen, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Cees
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: de Graaf
authors.affiliation: Division of Human Nutrition, Wageningen University and Research CentreWageningen, Netherlands; Image Sciences Institute, University Medical Center UtrechtUtrecht, Netherlands.
authors.forename: Paul A M
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Smeets
keywords: brain reward circuitry; calories; maltodextrin; reward sensitivity; sucrose; taste
references.citation: Chem Senses. 2014 Nov;39(9):737-47
references.pmid: 25326592
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2008 Feb 15;39(4):1559-69
references.pmid: 18096409
references.citation: Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2003 Jan;41(1):88-123
references.pmid: 12505650
references.citation: Brain Res. 2010 Sep 2;1350:159-66
references.pmid: 20423700
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2006 Jun;83(6):1297-305
references.pmid: 16762940
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2013 May;37(4):681-96
references.pmid: 23415703
references.citation: Appetite. 2004 Apr;42(2):131-8
references.pmid: 15010176
references.citation: Physiol Behav. 1987;40(5):563-8
references.pmid: 3671518
references.citation: Biol Psychiatry. 2009 Apr 15;65(8):654-61
references.pmid: 18996508
references.citation: Brain Res Rev. 2008 Jun;58(1):57-70
references.pmid: 18076995
references.citation: PLoS One. 2013 Nov 28;8(11):e81924
references.pmid: 24312382
references.citation: Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2008;32(4):811-30
references.pmid: 18316124
references.citation: Neuron. 2003 Apr 24;38(2):339-46
references.pmid: 12718866
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2003 Jul;19(3):1233-9
references.pmid: 12880848
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2015 Feb 15;279:139-47
references.pmid: 25449847
references.citation: Physiol Behav. 2007 Jan 30;90(1):133-41
references.pmid: 17084424
references.citation: J Neurosci. 2006 May 10;26(19):5160-6
references.pmid: 16687507
references.citation: Appetite. 2011 Oct;57(2):421-34
references.pmid: 21718731
references.citation: Psychiatry Res. 2010 May 15;177(1-2):1-11
references.pmid: 20381877
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2011 Jan 15;54(2):1367-74
references.pmid: 20804848
references.citation: Appetite. 2012 Apr;58(2):478-83
references.pmid: 22138702
references.citation: Am J Clin Nutr. 2010 Jun;91(6):1584-9
references.pmid: 20375191
references.citation: Chem Senses. 2010 Nov;35(9):831-40
references.pmid: 20876393
references.citation: Cereb Cortex. 2010 May;20(5):1082-91
references.pmid: 19684248
references.citation: Prog Brain Res. 2007;160:209-26
references.pmid: 17499116
references.citation: Physiol Behav. 2006 Mar 30;87(3):478-86
references.pmid: 16480750
references.citation: Lancet. 2014 Aug 30;384(9945):766-81
references.pmid: 24880830
references.citation: Appetite. 2007 Jan;48(1):12-9
references.pmid: 16875757
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2009 Feb 1;44(3):1008-21
references.pmid: 19007893
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 2001 Mar;85(3):1315-21
references.pmid: 11248000
references.citation: Brain. 1998 Jun;121 ( Pt 6):1143-54
references.pmid: 9648549
references.citation: Eur J Neurosci. 2009 Jul;30(2):327-38
references.pmid: 19614981
references.citation: Neuroimage. 2010 Nov 1;53(2):602-10
references.pmid: 20472070
references.citation: Clin Psychol Rev. 2009 Jul;29(5):421-30
references.pmid: 19403216
references.citation: Physiol Behav. 2010 Mar 30;99(4):538-43
references.pmid: 20096712
references.citation: Behav Brain Res. 2006 Apr 25;169(1):111-9
references.pmid: 16445991
references.citation: Appetite. 2005 Oct;45(2):198-201
references.pmid: 15949869
references.citation: Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2004 Dec;14(6):769-76
references.pmid: 15582382
references.citation: J Physiol. 2009 Apr 15;587(Pt 8):1779-94
references.pmid: 19237430
references.citation: Curr Biol. 2013 May 20;23(10):878-83
references.pmid: 23643837