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Associations between ghrelin and leptin and neural food cue reactivity in a fasted and sated state

Authors :
Mirjam C.M. Wever
Floor van Meer
Lisette Charbonnier
Daniel R. Crabtree
William Buosi
Angeliki Giannopoulou
Odysseas Androutsos
Alexandra M. Johnstone
Yannis Manios
Claire L. Meek
Jens J. Holst
Paul A.M. Smeets
Source :
NeuroImage, Vol 240, Iss , Pp 118374- (2021)
Publication Year :
2021
Publisher :
Elsevier, 2021.

Abstract

Food cue exposure can trigger eating. Food cue reactivity (FCR) is a conditioned response to food cues and includes physiological responses and activation of reward-related brain areas. FCR can be affected by hunger and weight status. The appetite-regulating hormones ghrelin and leptin play a pivotal role in homeostatic as well as hedonic eating. We examined the association between ghrelin and leptin levels and neural FCR in the fasted and sated state and the association between meal-induced changes in ghrelin and neural FCR, and in how far these associations are related to BMI and HOMA-IR. Data from 109 participants from three European centers (age 50±18 y, BMI 27±5 kg/m2) who performed a food viewing task during fMRI after an overnight fast and after a standardized meal were analyzed. Blood samples were drawn prior to the viewing task in which high-caloric, low-caloric and non-food images were shown. Fasting ghrelin was positively associated with neural FCR in the inferior and superior occipital gyrus in the fasted state. This was partly attributable to BMI and HOMA-IR. These brain regions are involved in visual attention, suggesting that individuals with higher fasting ghrelin have heightened attention to food cues. Leptin was positively associated with high calorie FCR in the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) in the fasted state and to neural FCR in the left supramarginal gyrus in the fasted versus sated state, when correcting for BMI and HOMA-IR, respectively. This PFC region is involved in assessing anticipated reward value, suggesting that for individuals with higher leptin levels high-caloric foods are more salient than low-caloric foods, but foods in general are not more salient than non-foods. There were no associations between ghrelin and leptin and neural FCR in the sated state, nor between meal-induced changes in ghrelin and neural FCR. In conclusion, we show modest associations between ghrelin and leptin and neural FCR in a relatively large sample of European adults with a broad age and BMI range. Our findings indicate that people with higher leptin levels for their weight status and people with higher ghrelin levels may be more attracted to high caloric foods when hungry. The results of the present study form a foundation for future studies to test whether food intake and (changes in) weight status can be predicted by the association between (mainly fasting) ghrelin and leptin levels and neural FCR.

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
10959572
Volume :
240
Issue :
118374-
Database :
Directory of Open Access Journals
Journal :
NeuroImage
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
edsdoj.3819dc1012d04c459392fb49c8bf3de1
Document Type :
article
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118374