Brain Imaging Can Predict Childhood Weight Gain

Summary: Neuroimaging reveals the higher density of cells in the nucleus accumbens is associated with a larger waist circumference in children.

Source: Yale

A greater density of cells in a key reward center of the brain is associated with obesity in children and predicts future weight gain, a new Yale-led study finds.

The findings, published Oct. 12 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggest that a greater concentration of specialized cells in a brain region called the nucleus accumbens may indicate an inflammatory response in the brain arising from a poor diet and excessive calorie intake. This inflammatory response can trigger yet more overeating, the authors say.

“Inflammation is known to be associated with obesity, but exactly how it is operating in the human brain has been challenging to investigate,” said Richard Watts, director of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Brain Imaging Center and senior author of the study.

Using a novel MRI technique called Restriction Spectrum Imaging, which allows for a closer look at micro structures within the brain, the team investigated the cell density of the nucleus accumbens — a brain region involved in reward motivation and eating behavior. They drew on publicly available data collected as part of the National Institutes of Health-funded Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, which is following brain development and health outcomes in over 11,000 children.

The researchers found that the higher the density of cells in the nucleus accumbens, the larger the waist circumference of the child.

‘’An even more impressive finding was that the density of cells in this region predicted increases in waist circumference and body mass index one year later,” said Kristina Rapuano, a psychology postdoctoral fellow at Yale and first author on the study.

Previous studies in animals have shown that a diet high in saturated fats spurs neuroinflammation in the brain which increases the number of cells in the nucleus accumbens. This accumulation of cells can trigger compulsive eating in animals.

This shows a child looking at junk food
The researchers found that the higher the density of cells in the nucleus accumbens, the larger the waist circumference of the child. Image credited to Yale.

“It’s a vicious cycle. Eating bad food leads to wanting more bad food. These data provide a possible brain mechanism for this idea,” said BJ Casey, professor of psychology at Yale and co-author of the study.

Casey noted that rates of childhood obesity worldwide have quadrupled over the past 40 years. That, she said, is in part due to greater accessibility to and consumption of unhealthy foods.

“This study is a step towards better understanding the neurobiological mechanisms underlying childhood weight gain, which will be critically important to inform early intervention and obesity prevention strategies,” Casey said.

About this neuroscience research news

Source: Yale
Contact: Bill Hathaway – Yale
Image: The image is credited to Yale

Original Research: Open access.
Nucleus accumbens cytoarchitecture predicts weight gain in children” by Kristina M. Rapuano, Jennifer S. Laurent, Donald J. Hagler Jr, Sean N. Hatton, Wesley K. Thompson, Terry L. Jernigan, Anders M. Dale, B. J. Casey, and Richard Watts. PNAS


Abstract

Nucleus accumbens cytoarchitecture predicts weight gain in children

The prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents worldwide has quadrupled since 1975 and is a key predictor of obesity later in life. Previous work has consistently observed relationships between macroscale measures of reward-related brain regions (e.g., the nucleus accumbens [NAcc]) and unhealthy eating behaviors and outcomes; however, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. Recent work has highlighted a potential role of neuroinflammation in the NAcc in animal models of diet-induced obesity. Here, we leverage a diffusion MRI technique, restriction spectrum imaging, to probe the microstructure (cellular density) of subcortical brain regions. More specifically, we test the hypothesis that the cell density of reward-related regions is associated with obesity-related metrics and early weight gain. In a large cohort of nine- and ten-year-olds enrolled in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study, we demonstrate that cellular density in the NAcc is related to individual differences in waist circumference at baseline and is predictive of increases in waist circumference after 1 y. These findings suggest a neurobiological mechanism for pediatric obesity consistent with rodent work showing that high saturated fat diets increase gliosis and neuroinflammation in reward-related brain regions, which in turn lead to further unhealthy eating and obesity.

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