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Brain-Based Etiology of Weight Regulation

  • Obesity (J McCaffery, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Caloric intake and energy balance are highly regulated to maintain metabolic homeostasis and weight. However, hedonic-motivated food intake, in particular consumption of highly rewarding foods, may act to override hemostatic signaling and contribute to overconsumption, weight gain, and obesity. Here, we review human neuroimaging literature that has delivered valuable insight into the neural correlates of hedonic-motivated ingestive behavior, weight gain, weight loss, and metabolic status. Our primary focus is the brain regions that are thought to encode aspects of food hedonics, gustatory and somatosensory processing, and executive functioning. Further, we discuss the variability of regional brain response as a function of obesity, weight gain, behavioral and surgical weight loss, as well as in type 2 diabetes.

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Acknowledgments

Preparation of this paper was supported, in part, by T32DK007686.

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  1. Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2204 McGravran-Greenberg Hall, CB 7461, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Kyle S. Burger & Abigail J. Sanders

  2. Department of Nutrition, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA

    Grace E. Shearrer

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  1. Kyle S. Burger
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Correspondence to Kyle S. Burger.

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Burger, K.S., Shearrer, G.E. & Sanders, A.J. Brain-Based Etiology of Weight Regulation. Curr Diab Rep 15, 100 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-015-0667-5

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