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Ruda I, Chellapandian DC, Freiherr J. The impact of cognitive distraction on gustatory perception in volunteers with obesity. Sci Rep 2024; 14:14268. [PMID: 38902292 PMCID: PMC11190272 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64722-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Obesity, a global health challenge, is influenced by biological, behavioral, socioeconomical, and environmental factors. In our technology-driven world, distracted eating is prevalent, yet neurocognitive mechanisms behind it remain poorly understood. This study targets individuals with overweight and obesity, exploring taste perception under distraction comprehensively. Participants formed two distinct groups based on their Body Mass Index (BMI), lean and overweight/obese. During the experiment participants received gustatory stimuli while playing a Tetris game of various difficulty levels. Participants rated taste intensity and pleasantness, with linear mixed models analyzing distraction effects. Results confirmed that high distraction levels reduced perception of taste intensity (p = 0.017) and taste pleasantness (p = 0.022), with variations influenced by gender and weight status. Individuals in the overweight/obese group exhibited most profound intensity changes during distraction (p = 0.01). Taste sensitivity ratings positively correlated with BMI interacting with gender (male r = 0.227, p < 0.001; female r = 0.101, p < 0.001). Overall across both groups, female participants demonstrated higher taste sensitivity compared to male participants (p < 0.001). This study highlights the impact of cognitive distraction during consumption on taste perception, particularly in relation to weight status and gender, underscoring their significant roles in this interplay.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iryna Ruda
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Deepak Charles Chellapandian
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany
| | - Jessica Freiherr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany.
- Sensory Analytics and Technologies, Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging IVV, Giggenhauser Strasse 35, 85354, Freising, Germany.
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Herzog N, Hartmann H, Janssen LK, Waltmann M, Fallon SJ, Deserno L, Horstmann A. Working memory gating in obesity: Insights from a case-control fMRI study. Appetite 2024; 195:107179. [PMID: 38145879 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2023.107179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/27/2023]
Abstract
Computational models and neurophysiological data propose that a 'gating mechanism' coordinates distractor-resistant maintenance and flexible updating of working memory contents: While maintenance of information is mainly implemented in the prefrontal cortex, updating of information is signaled by phasic increases in dopamine in the striatum. Previous literature demonstrates structural and functional alterations in these brain areas, as well as differential dopamine transmission among individuals with obesity, suggesting potential impairments in these processes. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an observational case-control fMRI study, dividing participants into groups with and without obesity based on their BMI. We probed maintenance and updating of working memory contents using a modified delayed match to sample task and investigated the effects of SNPs related to the dopaminergic system. While the task elicited the anticipated brain responses, our findings revealed no evidence for group differences in these two processes, neither at the neural level nor behaviorally. However, depending on Taq1A genotype, which affects dopamine receptor density in the striatum, participants with obesity performed worse on the task. In conclusion, this study does not support the existence of overall obesity-related differences in working memory gating. Instead, we propose that potentially subtle alterations may manifest specifically in individuals with a 'vulnerable' genotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Herzog
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Hendrik Hartmann
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Collaborative Research Centre 1052, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Lieneke K Janssen
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Institute of Psychology, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Maria Waltmann
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Sean J Fallon
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Lorenz Deserno
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany
| | - Annette Horstmann
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive & Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany; Collaborative Research Centre 1052, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany; Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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Larsen BA, Klinedinst BS, Wolf T, McLimans KE, Wang Q, Pollpeter A, Li T, Mohammadiarvejeh P, Fili M, Grundy JG, Willette AA. Adiposity and insulin resistance moderate the links between neuroelectrophysiology and working and episodic memory functions in young adult males but not females. Physiol Behav 2023; 271:114321. [PMID: 37567373 PMCID: PMC10592072 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Obesity and insulin resistance negatively influence neural activity and cognitive function, but electrophysiological mechanisms underlying these interrelationships remain unclear. This study investigated whether adiposity and insulin resistance moderated neural activity and underlying cognitive functions in young adults. METHODS Real-time electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded in 38 lean (n = 12) and obese (n = 26) young adults with (n = 15) and without (n = 23) insulin resistance (18-38 years, 55.3% female) as participants completed three neurocognitive tasks in working memory (Operation Span), inhibitory control (Stroop), and episodic memory (Visual Association Test). Body fat percentage was quantified by a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry scan (DEXA/DXA). Fasting serum insulin and glucose were quantified to calculate Homeostatic Model Assessment for Insulin Resistance (HOMA-IR) values, for which a higher value indicates more insulin resistance. Hierarchical moderated regression analysis tested these interrelationships. RESULTS In males, greater frontal negative slow wave (fNSW) and positive slow wave (PSW) amplitudes were linked to higher working memory accuracy in participants with low, but not high, body fat percentage and HOMA-IR levels. In contrast, body fat percentage and HOMA-IR did not moderate these associations in females. Furthermore, body fat percentage and HOMA-IR values moderated the relationship between greater fNSW amplitudes and better episodic memory accuracy in males, but not females. Finally, body fat percentage and insulin resistance did not moderate the link between neural activity and inhibitory control for either sex. CONCLUSION Young adult males, but not females, with higher body adiposity and insulin resistance showed reduced neural activity and worse underlying working and episodic memory functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brittany A Larsen
- Department of Behavioral Science, MD Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030, United States of America
| | - Brandon S Klinedinst
- Department of Medicine, University of Washington, RR-512, Health Sciences Building, Box 356420, 1959 NE Pacific St., Seattle, Washington, 98195, United States of America
| | - Tovah Wolf
- Lifecare Alliance, 1699 W Mound St., Columbus, Ohio, 43223, United States of America
| | - Kelsey E McLimans
- Nutrition and Dietetics Department, Viterbo University, 900 Viterbo Dr., La Crosse, Wisconsin, 54601, United States of America
| | - Qian Wang
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, 2312 Food Sciences Building, 536 Farm House Ln., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
| | - Amy Pollpeter
- Bioinformatics and Computational Biology Graduate Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, 1800 Christensen Dr., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
| | - Tianqi Li
- Genetics and Genomics Graduate Program, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, 2312 Food Sciences Building, 536 Farm House Ln., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
| | - Parvin Mohammadiarvejeh
- Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Iowa State University, 3004 Black Engineering, 2529 Union Dr., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
| | - Mohammad Fili
- Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering, College of Engineering, Iowa State University, 3004 Black Engineering, 2529 Union Dr., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
| | - John G Grundy
- Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University, 901 Stange Rd., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America
| | - Auriel A Willette
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, 2312 Food Sciences Building, 536 Farm House Ln., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America; Department of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Iowa State University, 901 Stange Rd., Ames, Iowa, 50011, United States of America; Department of Neurology, Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Dr., 2007 Roy Carver Pavilion, Iowa City, Iowa, 52242, United States of America.
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Soares PSM, Leão OADA, Dias MDS, Wehrmeister FC, Menezes AMB, Gonçalves H. Effect of Adolescent Body Mass Index Trajectories on Working Memory: A Prospective Birth Cohort in Brazil. J Atten Disord 2023; 27:521-529. [PMID: 36779539 DOI: 10.1177/10870547231153973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/14/2023]
Abstract
Most research on the association between high body mass index (BMI) and working memory (WM) has been cross-sectional in design, limiting conclusions about long-term effects of overweight and obesity on WM. The aim of this study was to examine the association of BMI trajectory from 11 to 22 years with WM at 22 years of age. Data from the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study were analyzed (N = 3,010). Information on BMI was collected at ages 11, 15, 18, and 22 years. Group-based trajectory modeling was used separately for each sex to identify BMI trajectories. Working Memory performance (Digit Span backward score) was examined at age 22. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the association between BMI trajectory from 11 to 22 years and WM at age 22. In both sexes, the trajectory groups were: stable normal weight, stable overweight, and stable obesity. In the adjusted analyses, women in the stable-obesity group had lower WM at 22 years (β = -.49; 95% CI: -0.75, -0.23; p < .001) than those in the stable-normal weight group. No associations were found between BMI trajectories and WM in men. This study may contribute to future investigations of possible explanatory avenues for the association between high BMI and WM.
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Yang Y, Morys F, Wu Q, Li J, Chen H. Pilot study of food-specific go/no-go training for overweight individuals: brain imaging data suggest inhibition shapes food evaluation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:6464693. [PMID: 34918164 PMCID: PMC10074770 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2021] [Revised: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Food-specific go/no-go training might reduce overeating and facilitate weight loss. In this pilot study, we examined whether a food-specific go/no-go training over five weeks, as compared to a non-food-specific training, could produce changes in behavioral and neural responses to food images and body weight. Here, we used a sample of 51 overweight participants divided into training and control groups whose brain activity and food evaluation were measured before and after the training. Compared with the control group, in the training group we found significant reductions in high-calorie food evaluation. We also found lower activations in inhibitory control- and reward-related brain regions in response to high-calorie food images. Further, activation change of the mid-insula in response to the high-calorie food images was positively associated with change in the evaluation of those images. However, we found no evidence for a significant effect of food-specific go/no-go training on body weight change. Our findings highlight that food-specific go/no-go training in overweight individuals can reduce high-calorie food evaluation, but also neural activations in inhibitory control- and reward- related brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingkai Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Filip Morys
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Qian Wu
- The Lab of Mental Health and Social Adaptation, Faculty of Psychology, Research Center of Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Jiwen Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (Ministry of Education), Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
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Effects of grade, academic performance, and sex on spatial working memory and attention in primary school children: a cross-sectional observational study. JOURNAL OF BIO-X RESEARCH 2022. [DOI: 10.1097/jbr.0000000000000120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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de los Remedios Moreno-Frías M, Solís-Ortiz S. Dietary intake of micro- and macronutrients is associated with deficits in executive functioning in young women with high adiposity. Nutrition 2022; 101:111691. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2022.111691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 03/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Moorman SM, Kobielski S. Body Mass Index and Memory Across 18 Years in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2022; 78:129-133. [PMID: 35147678 PMCID: PMC9879747 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glac037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Body weight is a modifiable risk factor for dementia, but results have been mixed as to the ages at which normal body weight is markedly preferable to overweight or obesity. This study assessed the association between change in body mass index (BMI) over 2 periods of the life course with change in memory between the ages of 65 and 72 for males and females. METHODS Participants were 3 637 White high school graduates, born in 1939, from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. The statistical analyses were fixed-effects regression models, with moderation terms to test for sex differences. One set of models examined change in BMI between ages 54 and 65, and the other set examined change in BMI between ages 65 and 72. In both cases, cognitive change occurred between ages 65 and 72. RESULTS Greater increases in BMI were associated with a greater decline in immediate recall for females only, both contemporaneously and following a lag. Increases in BMI were associated with greater contemporaneous-but not lagged-declines in both delayed recall and digit ordering for both males and females. CONCLUSIONS The present study adds to the evidence that for White, high school educated Americans, weight gain in midlife and young-old age is a risk factor for memory decline. Results vary according to the timing of the weight gain, the aspect of memory measured, and participant sex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Moorman
- Address correspondence to: Sara M. Moorman, PhD, Department of Sociology, Boston College, McGuinn Hall 426, 140 Commonwealth Avenue, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3807, USA. E-mail:
| | - Sara Kobielski
- Department of Sociology, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA
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Shields GS, Deer LK, Hastings PD, Hostinar CE. Adiposity, Inflammation, and Working Memory: Evidence for a Vicious Cycle. Brain Behav Immun Health 2021; 13. [PMID: 33899030 PMCID: PMC8061900 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Overweight and obesity constitute the fifth leading cause of preventable deaths worldwide. One pathway through which excess weight contributes to poor health outcomes is via inflammatory activity and changes in cognitive processes. Prior theory has proposed a vicious cycle whereby obesity potentiates inflammatory activity, which alters cognitive processes such as working memory, which in turn leads to a reduced ability to self-regulate and therefore manage weight. However, to date no longitudinal studies have examined this potential dynamic. In the current study, we addressed this gap by assessing the relations among fat mass, C-reactive protein (CRP), and working memory across time in a large sample of 8536 children followed through adolescence in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children in the United Kingdom. Adiposity was quantified via dual emission x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) at ages 9 and 15.5 years old, and inflammatory activity was indexed via circulating serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels assessed with a high-sensitivity assay at those same ages. Working memory was assessed between these two time points, at age 10, permitting examination of the temporal relations between working memory, adiposity, and inflammatory activity. As hypothesized, we found that fat mass predicted later poor working memory, and this association was statistically mediated by CRP. Further, we found that poor working memory predicted greater subsequent fat mass and CRP, and the link between working memory and subsequent CRP was partially mediated by fat mass. These results thus could be taken to suggest the existence of a vicious cycle of mutually amplifying adiposity, inflammatory activity, and poor working memory over time. Adiposity and inflammatory activity (CRP) was measured at ages 9 and 15.5 yrs. Working memory was assessed at age 10 yrs. Adiposity predicted working memory, and this association was mediated by CRP. Working memory predicted later adiposity and CRP, this was mediated by adiposity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grant S. Shields
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - LillyBelle K. Deer
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Paul D. Hastings
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Camelia E. Hostinar
- Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
- Corresponding author. Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
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Wiss DA, Avena N, Gold M. Food Addiction and Psychosocial Adversity: Biological Embedding, Contextual Factors, and Public Health Implications. Nutrients 2020; 12:E3521. [PMID: 33207612 PMCID: PMC7698089 DOI: 10.3390/nu12113521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The role of stress, trauma, and adversity particularly early in life has been identified as a contributing factor in both drug and food addictions. While links between traumatic stress and substance use disorders are well documented, the pathways to food addiction and obesity are less established. This review focuses on psychosocial and neurobiological factors that may increase risk for addiction-like behaviors and ultimately increase BMI over the lifespan. Early childhood and adolescent adversity can induce long-lasting alterations in the glucocorticoid and dopamine systems that lead to increased addiction vulnerability later in life. Allostatic load, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, and emerging data on epigenetics in the context of biological embedding are highlighted. A conceptual model for food addiction is proposed, which integrates data on the biological embedding of adversity as well as upstream psychological, social, and environmental factors. Dietary restraint as a feature of disordered eating is discussed as an important contextual factor related to food addiction. Discussion of various public health and policy considerations are based on the concept that improved knowledge of biopsychosocial mechanisms contributing to food addiction may decrease stigma associated with obesity and disordered eating behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- David A. Wiss
- Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA;
| | - Nicole Avena
- Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
| | - Mark Gold
- School of Medicine, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
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Sex Differences in Urate Handling. Int J Mol Sci 2020; 21:ijms21124269. [PMID: 32560040 PMCID: PMC7349092 DOI: 10.3390/ijms21124269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Hyperuricemia, or elevated serum urate, causes urate kidney stones and gout and also increases the incidence of many other conditions including renal disease, cardiovascular disease, and metabolic syndrome. As we gain mechanistic insight into how urate contributes to human disease, a clear sex difference has emerged in the physiological regulation of urate homeostasis. This review summarizes our current understanding of urate as a disease risk factor and how being of the female sex appears protective. Further, we review the mechanisms of renal handling of urate and the significant contributions from powerful genome-wide association studies of serum urate. We also explore the role of sex in the regulation of specific renal urate transporters and the power of new animal models of hyperuricemia to inform on the role of sex and hyperuricemia in disease pathogenesis. Finally, we advocate the use of sex differences in urate handling as a potent tool in gaining a further understanding of physiological regulation of urate homeostasis and for presenting new avenues for treating the constellation of urate related pathologies.
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