Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen, German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Tübingen, Germany.
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Diabetology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
Hum Brain Mapp. 2023 Feb 1;44(2):418-428. doi: 10.1002/hbm.26059. Epub 2022 Sep 3.
The neural underpinnings of the integration of internal and external cues that reflect nutritional status are poorly understood in humans. The hypothalamus is a key integrative area involved in short- and long-term energy intake regulation. Hence, we examined the effect of hunger state on the hypothalamus network using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In a multicenter study, participants performed a food cue viewing task either fasted or sated on two separate days. We evaluated hypothalamic functional connectivity (FC) using psychophysiological interactions during high versus low caloric food cue viewing in 107 adults (divided into four groups based on age and body mass index [BMI]; age range 24-76 years; BMI range 19.5-41.5 kg/m ). In the sated compared to the fasted condition, the hypothalamus showed significantly higher FC with the bilateral caudate, the left insula and parts of the left inferior frontal cortex. Interestingly, we observed a significant interaction between hunger state and BMI group in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Participants with normal weight compared to overweight and obesity showed higher FC between the hypothalamus and DLPFC in the fasted condition. The current study showed that task-based FC of the hypothalamus can be modulated by internal (hunger state) and external cues (i.e., food cues with varying caloric content) with a general enhanced communication in the sated state and obesity-associated differences in hypothalamus to DLPFC communication. This could potentially promote overeating in persons with obesity.
人类对反映营养状况的内部和外部线索整合的神经基础知之甚少。下丘脑是参与短期和长期能量摄入调节的关键整合区域。因此，我们使用功能磁共振成像研究了饥饿状态对下丘脑网络的影响。在一项多中心研究中，参与者在两天内分别在空腹和饱腹状态下进行食物线索观看任务。我们评估了 107 名成年人（根据年龄和体重指数 [BMI] 分为四组；年龄范围 24-76 岁；BMI 范围 19.5-41.5 kg/m ）在高卡路里和低卡路里食物线索观看期间使用心理生理相互作用的下丘脑功能连接（FC）。与空腹相比，饱腹时下丘脑与双侧尾状核、左侧岛叶和部分左侧额下回的 FC 显著增加。有趣的是，我们观察到饥饿状态和 BMI 组之间在背外侧前额叶皮层（DLPFC）存在显著的交互作用。与超重和肥胖相比，正常体重的参与者在空腹状态下，下丘脑与 DLPFC 之间的 FC 更高。本研究表明，基于任务的下丘脑 FC 可以通过内部（饥饿状态）和外部线索（即具有不同热量含量的食物线索）进行调节，在饱腹状态下，整体通讯增强，而肥胖与下丘脑与 DLPFC 通讯之间存在差异。这可能会导致肥胖者过度进食。
