ArticleInternational journal of obesity (2005)2021
Neural network modelling reveals changes in directional connectivity between cortical and hypothalamic regions with increased BMI.
Article in International journal of obesity (2005), 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Mindsets impact training adaptation and high-pressure performance: beliefs and perceptions of professionals working in elite sport and mission critical teams.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2026Article
- Appetite Self-Regulation in Childhood: A Narrative Review and Conceptual Model of Processes and Mechanisms With Implications for Research and Practice.Nutrition reviews · 2025Review
- Exploring the link between inflammation and brain function after metabolic-bariatric surgery: A year-long fMRI study.Diabetes, obesity & metabolism · 2025Article
- Aberrant Brain Triple-Network Effective Connectivity Patterns in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus.Diabetes therapy : research, treatment and education of diabetes and related disorders · 2024Article
- Brain functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging of obesity and weight loss interventions.Molecular psychiatry · 2023Review
- The maternal brain is more flexible and responsive at rest: effective connectivity of the parental caregiving network in postpartum mothers.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Brain effective connectivity and functional connectivity as markers of lifespan vascular exposures in middle-aged adults: The Bogalusa Heart Study.Frontiers in aging neuroscience · 2023Article
- Hypothalamic effective connectivity at rest is associated with body weight and energy homeostasis.Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.) · 2022Article
- Conceptualizing and Measuring Appetite Self-Regulation Phenotypes and Trajectories in Childhood: A Review of Person-Centered Strategies.Frontiers in nutrition · 2021Review
- Altered connectivity patterns of medial and lateral orbitofrontal cortex underlie the severity of bulimic symptoms.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
- Altered hippocampal effective connectivity predicts BMI and food approach behavior in children with obesity.International journal of clinical and health psychology : IJCHPArticle
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesObesity has been ascribed to corticostriatal regions taking control over homeostatic areas. To test this assumption, we applied an effective connectivity approach to reveal the direction of information flow between brain regions and the valence of connections (excitatory versus inhibitory) as a function of increased BMI and homeostatic state. SUBJECTS/
methodsForty-one participants (21 overweight/obese) underwent two resting-state fMRI scans: after overnight fasting (hunger) and following a standardised meal (satiety). We used spectral dynamic causal modelling to unravel hunger and increased BMI-related changes in directed connectivity between cortical, insular, striatal and hypothalamic regions.
resultsDuring hunger, as compared to satiety, we found increased excitation of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex over the ventral striatum and hypothalamus, suggesting enhanced top-down modulation compensating energy depletion. Increased BMI was associated with increased excitation of the anterior insula over the hypothalamus across the hunger and satiety conditions. The interaction of hunger and increased BMI yielded decreased intra-cortical excitation from the dorso-lateral to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
conclusionsOur findings suggest that excess weight and obesity is associated with persistent top-down excitation of the hypothalamus, regardless of homeostatic state, and hunger-related reductions of dorso-lateral to ventromedial prefrontal inputs. These findings are compatible with eating without hunger and reduced self-regulation views of obesity.
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