Food Reward Processing in the Human Brain

Integration of Homeostatic Signaling and Food Reward Processing in the Human Brain

The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of different metabolic states and hormonal satiety signalling on responses in neural reward networks.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Healthy
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Satiety State

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.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 23

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 45 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: Female

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Healthy normal weight female participants

Description

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

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Healthy Controls; Normal weight, healthy female participants	Behavioral: Satiety State; Participants were scanned twice: once after a meal and once after fasting for 24 hours

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Experimental fMRI task (incentive delay task)	Participants were expecting food and monetary related reward, after a correct response to a simple task they received either food or monetary related reward.	22 min.
Resting state brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging	Functional brain imaging will be employed to assess functional connectivity in reward related brain networks.	5 min.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Analysis of hormonal satiety signaling	Blood is collected for the measurement of peripheral ghrelin. One blood sample at the start of the experiment will be collected.	30 min. before scanning
Self-report questionnaire regarding eating behavior (Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire)	Psychometric tests will be employed to assess eating behavior and eating disorder psychopathology (using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire).	30 min.

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Heidelberg Medical Center
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Joe Simon, Dr. Dipl. Psych., University Hospital Heidelberg

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Simon JJ, Wetzel A, Sinno MH, Skunde M, Bendszus M, Preissl H, Enck P, Herzog W, Friederich HC. Integration of homeostatic signaling and food reward processing in the human brain. JCI Insight. 2017 Aug 3;2(15):e92970. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.92970. eCollection 2017 Aug 3.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): June 9, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 10, 2016
• Study Completion (Actual): June 10, 2016

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: March 10, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 15, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): March 16, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 29, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: March 28, 2022
• Last Verified: March 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: fasting; fmri; neuronal reward processing; hormonal satiety signalling
• Other Study ID Numbers: NSM

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No