Sweet Dopamine: Sucrose Preferences Relate Differentially to Striatal D2 Receptor Binding and Age in Obesity.
Alterations in dopaminergic circuitry play a critical role in food reward and may contribute to susceptibility to obesity. Ingestion of sweets releases dopamine in striatum, and both sweet preferences and striatal D2 receptors (D2R) decline with age and may be altered in obesity. Understanding the relationships between these variables and the impact of obesity on these relationships may reveal insight into the neurobiological basis of sweet preferences. We evaluated sucrose preferences, perception of sweetness intensity, and striatal D2R binding potential (D2R BPND) using positron emission tomography with a D2R-selective radioligand insensitive to endogenous dopamine, (N-[(11)C] methyl)benperidol, in 20 subjects without obesity (BMI 22.5 ± 2.4 kg/m(2); age 28.3 ± 5.4 years) and 24 subjects with obesity (BMI 40.3 ± 5.0 kg/m(2); age 31.2 ± 6.3 years). The groups had similar sucrose preferences, sweetness intensity perception, striatal D2R BPND, and age-related D2R BPND declines. However, both striatal D2R BPND and age correlated with sucrose preferences in subjects without obesity, explaining 52% of their variance in sucrose preference. In contrast, these associations were absent in the obese group. In conclusion, the age-related decline in D2R was not linked to the age-related decline in sweetness preferences, suggesting that other, as-yet-unknown mechanisms play a role and that these mechanisms are disrupted in obesity.
Atkins Center of Excellence in Obesity Medicine, Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO pepinodegruevmy@wustl.edu.
Marta Y
MY
Pepino
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Sarah A
SA
Eisenstein
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Allison N
AN
Bischoff
Atkins Center of Excellence in Obesity Medicine, Center for Human Nutrition, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Samuel
S
Klein
Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Stephen M
SM
Moerlein
Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Occupational Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Physical Therapy, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Joel S
JS
Perlmutter
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Kevin J
KJ
Black
Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO.
Tamara
T
Hershey
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism*; D049268:Positron-Emission Tomography; D011485:Protein Binding; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D013395:Sucrose / Q000378:metabolism*; D013649:Taste / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D013395:Sucrose; D004298:Dopamine