title: Brain Structural Differences between Normal and Obese Adults and their Links with Lack of Perseverance, Negative Urgency, and Sensation Seeking.
abstract: In order to examine the difference in brain structure between obese and normal weight individuals, and to explore the relationship between the neuroanatomical changes and impulsivity traits, this study used a voxel-based morphometry method to examine gray matter (GM) volume alterations related to impulsive personality traits in obese individuals relative to normal weight. Eighty adults that completed the UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale were analyzed. Possible GM volume alterations were first analyzed at the whole brain level, and then the relationship between regional GM volume differences and UPPS-P scores were examined in selected regions of interest. Reduced GM volumes were found in the frontal and limbic regions in the obese group compared to normal weight individuals. In the normal weight group, lack of perseverance was negatively correlated with GM volume in the anterior cingulate cortex, and negative urgency was negatively correlated with GM volume in the insula. In the obese group, sensation seeking was negatively correlated with GM volume in the left amygdala and right pallidum. These findings might improve our understanding of the relationship between lack of perseverance, negative urgency, and sensation seeking and body weight fluctuations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, The first Bethune Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Haifeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of MRI, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Baohong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.affiliation: Department of MRI, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450052, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Jingliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin 130041, P.R. China.
authors.forename: Hongpeng
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001835:Body Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D066128:Gray Matter / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000473:pathology*; D009929:Organ Size; D010551:Personality; D012677:Sensation