Structural integrity between executive control and reward regions of the brain predicts body fat percentage in chronic dieters.
Failure to maintain a healthy body weight may reflect a long-term imbalance between the executive control and reward systems of the brain. The current study examined whether the anatomical connectivity between these two systems predicted individual variability in achieving a healthy body weight, particularly in chronic dieters. Thirty-six female chronic dieters completed a food-cue reactivity task in the scanner. Two regions-of-interest (ROIs) were defined from the reactivity task: the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), which engages cognitive control and the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), which represents reward value. A white matter tract connecting these two ROIs was identified across participants using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and probabilistic tractography. Results showed a negative relationship between body fat percentage and white matter integrity within the identified tract. This suggests that reduced structural integrity between the OFC and IFG may be related to self-regulatory problems for those who chronically diet to control body weight.
a Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences , Dartmouth College , Hanover , NH , USA.
Pin-Hao Andy
PA
Chen
b Department of Psychology , Ohio State University , Columbus , OH , USA.
Robert S
RS
Chavez
a Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences , Dartmouth College , Hanover , NH , USA.
Todd F
TF
Heatherton
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000502:physiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D003463:Cues; D004038:Diet, Reducing; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology*; D012201:Reward; D000068356:Self-Control; D066127:White Matter / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D055815:Young Adult
Self-control; connectivity; diffusion tensor imaging; functional magnetic resonance imaging; individual differences; obesity
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