Jacobson Aaron, Green Erin, Haase Lori, Szajer Jacquelyn, Murphy Claire
Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, CA, USA.
San Diego State University/University of California San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, CA, USA.
Perception. 2017 Mar-Apr;46(3-4):283-306. doi: 10.1177/0301006616686097. Epub 2017 Jan 6.
Age affects the human taste system at peripheral and central levels. Metabolic syndrome is a constellation of risk factors (e.g., abdominal obesity and hypertension) that co-occur, increase with age, and heighten risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cognitive decline. Little is known about how age, metabolic syndrome, and hunger state interact to influence how the brain processes information about taste. We investigated brain activation during the hedonic evaluation of a pleasant, nutritive stimulus (sucrose) within regions critical for taste, homeostatic energy regulation, and reward, as a function of the interactions among age, metabolic syndrome, and hunger condition. We scanned young and elderly adults, half with risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome twice: Once fasted overnight and once after a preload. Functional magnetic resonance imaging data indicated significant effects of age as well as interactive effects with metabolic syndrome and hunger condition. Age-related differences in activation were dependent on the hunger state in regions critical for homoeostatic energy regulation and basic as well as higher order sensory processing and integration. The effects of age and metabolic syndrome on activation in the insula, orbital frontal cortex, caudate, and the hypothalamus may have particularly important implications for taste processing, energy regulation, and dietary choices.
年龄在周围和中枢水平上影响人类味觉系统。代谢综合征是一组同时出现、随年龄增长且会增加心血管疾病、糖尿病和认知衰退风险的危险因素（如腹型肥胖和高血压）。关于年龄、代谢综合征和饥饿状态如何相互作用以影响大脑处理味觉信息的方式，我们所知甚少。我们研究了在对味觉、稳态能量调节和奖赏至关重要的区域内，对一种愉悦的营养刺激物（蔗糖）进行享乐评价时的大脑激活情况，这是年龄、代谢综合征和饥饿状态之间相互作用的函数。我们对年轻人和老年人进行了扫描，其中一半伴有与代谢综合征相关的危险因素，扫描了两次：一次是空腹过夜后，一次是在预先摄入食物后。功能磁共振成像数据表明了年龄的显著影响以及与代谢综合征和饥饿状态的交互作用。在对稳态能量调节、基本以及高阶感觉处理和整合至关重要的区域中，与年龄相关的激活差异取决于饥饿状态。年龄和代谢综合征对岛叶、眶额皮质、尾状核和下丘脑激活的影响，可能对味觉处理、能量调节和饮食选择具有特别重要的意义。
