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Changes in neural activity of the prefrontal cortex during eating in humans
Abstract   Peer reviewed

Changes in neural activity of the prefrontal cortex during eating in humans

J.A. Nasser, H. Ayaz, R.P. Golen, B. Makwana, E. Albajri, M.B. Price, S. Mogil, G. Cucalon and A. DelParigi
Appetite, v 107, pp 688-689
01 Dec 2016
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.08.071

Abstract

Functional neuroimaging shows reduced post-ingestive lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC) activity in people with obesity. Technical limitations have not allowed for the exploration of the neurofunctional response during eating. Using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) we measured changes in neural activity in the lPFC and the medial PFC (mPFC) in 29 healthy males (BMI < 25, n ¼ 14; BMI > 25, n ¼ 15) before and during eating to test the hypothesis that loss of control overeating is associated with a greater increase of activity in the mPFC vs. lPFC. Subjects underwent two ten minute, ad libitum eating sessions: one in which they ate a preferred food (PF) and one in which they ate a less preferred food (NP) presented in random order. LOC status was based on the EDE-Q. Meal intake (g) did not differ significantly between the PF and NP. While lPFC and mPFC neural activity did not differ before eating, during eating mPFC activity was greater than lPFC activity in 15 subjects (irrespective of BMI group) and this was associated with increased intake (g) of both PF and NP (235 ± 90 vs. 163 ± 19, p ¼ 0.026 PF; 217 ± 155 vs. 132 ± 73 NP, p ¼ 0.054). These results suggest that a greater mPFC vs. lPFC neural activity during eating may be a marker of overeating.

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