Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
fmri, neuronal reward processing, hormonal satiety signalling, fasting
Brief summary
The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of different metabolic states and hormonal satiety signalling on responses in neural reward networks.
Detailed description
Given the rapid development of obesity world-wide, a better understanding of the interaction between the encoding of food reward in mesocorticolimbic reward pathways and homeostatic energy regulation is of paramount importance for the development of new treatment strategies. Healthy participants will undergo functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a task distinguishing between the anticipation and the receipt of either food or monetary reward. Every participant will be scanned twice in a counterbalanced fashion, both during a state of hunger (after 24-hours fasting) and satiety. Blood samples will be collected to assess hormonal satiety signalling. We hope to provide new insights into the neurobiological underpinnings of motivational processing and hedonic evaluation of food reward.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSatiety State
Participants were scanned twice: once after a meal and once after fasting for 24 hours
Sponsors
University of Heidelberg Medical Center
Study design
Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
CROSS_SECTIONAL
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
FEMALE
Age
18 Years to 45 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* BMI \<25 kg/m² and \>18.5 kg/m² * no lifetime or current medical illness that could potentially affect appetite or body weight * right-handedness * normal or corrected-to-normal vision
Exclusion criteria
* history of head injury or surgery * history of neurological disorder * severe psychiatric disorder (psychosis, bipolar disorder, substance abuse) * smoking * borderline personality disorder * current psychotropic medication * inability to undergo fMRI scanning (e.g. metallic implants, claustrophobia, Pacemakers) * pregnancy
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Experimental fMRI task (incentive delay task) | 22 min. | Participants were expecting food and monetary related reward, after a correct response to a simple task they received either food or monetary related reward. |
| Resting state brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging | 5 min. | Functional brain imaging will be employed to assess functional connectivity in reward related brain networks. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Analysis of hormonal satiety signaling | 30 min. before scanning | Blood is collected for the measurement of peripheral ghrelin. One blood sample at the start of the experiment will be collected. |
| Self-report questionnaire regarding eating behavior (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire) | 30 min. | Psychometric tests will be employed to assess eating behavior and eating disorder psychopathology (using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire). |
Outcome results
None listed