Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32555497›Full record

SynthesisInternational journal of obesity (2005)2020

Hunger and BMI modulate neural responses to sweet stimuli: fMRI meta-analysis.

Eunice Y Chen, Thomas A Zeffiro

Open access · greenAbstract readMeta-AnalysisReview
In one paragraph

Synthesis in International journal of obesity (2005), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
25citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
2.6field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

25 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 46 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  5. Article
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  7. Review
  8. Association of Students' Nutritional Behaviors with Insulin Resistance and Body Measurements.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2025
    Article
  9. Review
  10. Reward responses to vicarious feeding depend on body mass index.Cognitive, affective & behavioral neuroscience · 2025
    Article
  11. An Honest Reckoning With the Amygdala and Mental Illness.The American journal of psychiatry · 2024
    Review
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Eunice Y ChenTEDP (Temple Eating Disorders Program), Department of Psychology, Temple University, 1701 N 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA. Eunice.Chen@temple.edu.
Thomas A ZeffiroUniversity of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0846-4577
Temple University · USUniversity of Maryland, Baltimore · US

Funding

The Reward Neurocircuitry and Binge-Eating Disorder and Obesity - a Pilot StudyR21MH093932 · NIMH · TEMPLE UNIV OF THE COMMONWEALTH · PI CHEN, EUNICE YU · 2012 to 2013
$406k
NIMH NIH HHS R21 MH093932
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveConsuming sweet foods, even when sated, can lead to unwanted weight gain. Contextual factors, such as longer time fasting, subjective hunger, and body mass index (BMI), may increase the likelihood of overeating. Nevertheless, the neural mechanisms underlying these moderating influences on energy intake are poorly understood.

methodsWe conducted both categorical meta-analysis and meta-regression of factors modulating neural responses to sweet stimuli, using data from 30 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) articles incorporating 39 experiments (N = 995) carried out between 2006 and 2019.

resultsResponses to sweet stimuli were associated with increased activity in regions associated with taste, sensory integration, and reward processing. These taste-evoked responses were modulated by context. Longer fasts were associated with higher posterior cerebellar, thalamic, and striatal activity. Greater self-reported hunger was associated with higher medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), dorsal striatum, and amygdala activity and lower posterior cerebellar activity. Higher BMI was associated with higher posterior cerebellar and insular activity.

conclusionsVariations in fasting time, self-reported hunger, and BMI are contexts associated with differential sweet stimulus responses in regions associated with reward processing and homeostatic regulation. These results are broadly consistent with a hierarchical model of taste processing. Hunger, but not fasting or BMI, was associated with sweet stimulus-related OFC activity. Our findings extend existing models of taste processing to include posterior cerebellar regions that are associated with moderating effects of both state (fast length and self-reported hunger) and trait (BMI) variables.

Indexed as

Body Mass IndexHungerBrainDietary SucroseEnergy IntakeHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingRewardTasteDietary Sucrose

Identifiers

PMID32555497
PMCPMC8023765
OpenAlexW3036747232

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.