Stress-induced alterations in HPA-axis reactivity and mesolimbic reward activation in individuals with emotional eating.

Background: Emotional eating has emerged as a contributing factor to overeating, potentially leading to obesity or disordered eating behaviors. However, the underlying biological mechanisms related to emotional eating remain unclear. The present study examined emotional, hormonal, and neural alterations elicited by an acute laboratory stressor in individuals with and without emotional eating.

Diets Varying in Carbohydrate Content Differentially Alter Brain Activity in Homeostatic and Reward Regions in Adults.

Background: Obesity has one of the highest refractory rates of all chronic diseases, in part because weight loss induced by calorie restriction, the first-line treatment for obesity, elicits biological adaptations that promote weight regain. Although acute feeding trials suggest a role for macronutrient composition in modifying brain activity related to hunger and satiety, relevance of these findings to weight-loss maintenance has not been studied.

Objectives: We investigated effects of weight-loss maintenance diets varying in macronutrient content on regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in brain regions involved in hunger and reward.

Resting-State Brain Connectivity Predicts Weight Loss and Cognitive Control of Eating Behavior After Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Objective: The effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on functional connectivity (FC) and associations with weight loss and eating-related cognitive control were investigated.

Methods: In a longitudinal study, 14 SG patients (13 female; 42.1 presurgery BMI) completed study visits 1 month pre surgery and 12 months post surgery.

Divergent associations between ghrelin and neural responsivity to palatable food in hyperphagic and hypophagic depression.

Background: The neurobiological mechanisms involved in divergent appetitive phenotypes in major depressive disorder (MDD) are not well understood, although recent data suggest disruption in mesolimbic reward circuitry. Ghrelin, an orexigenic hormone, has been shown to modulate the reward circuitry. We aimed to investigate the relationship between acylated ghrelin levels and the neural response to food stimuli in individuals with hyperphagic and hypophagic MDD in remission.

Neural predictors of 12-month weight loss outcomes following bariatric surgery.

Background/objectives: Despite the effectiveness of bariatric surgery, there is still substantial variability in long-term weight outcomes and few factors with predictive power to explain this variability. Neuroimaging may provide a novel biomarker with utility beyond other commonly used variables in bariatric surgery trials to improve prediction of long-term weight-loss outcomes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of sleeve gastrectomy (SG) on reward and cognitive control circuitry postsurgery and determine the extent to which baseline brain activity predicts weight loss at 12-month postsurgery.

Testing the antidepressant properties of the peptide ARA290 in a human neuropsychological model of drug action.

Studies on the neural effects of Erythropoietin (EPO) indicate that EPO may have antidepressant effects. Due to its hematopoietic effects, EPO may cause serious side-effects with repeated administration if patients are not monitored extensively. ARA290 is an EPO-analog peptide without such hematopoietic side-effects but may have neurotrophic and antidepressant effects.

Tryptophan supplementation and the response to unfairness in healthy volunteers.

Experimental manipulation of serotonin (5-HT) availability has been shown to modulate social behavior. For instance, serotonin depletion increased the rejection rates of unfair offers in the ultimatum game (UG), whereas a single dose of the serotonin reuptake inhibitor (citalopram) decreased rejection rates. These effects were observed immediately after the manipulation.

The effects of MAOA genotype, childhood trauma, and sex on trait and state-dependent aggression.

Monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) genotypic variation has been associated with variation in aggression, especially in interaction with childhood trauma or other early adverse events. Male carriers of the low-expressing variant (MAOA-L) with childhood trauma or other early adverse events seem to be more aggressive, whereas female carriers with the high-expressing variant (MAOA-H) with childhood trauma or other early adverse events may be more aggressive. We further investigated the effects of MAOA genotype and its interaction with sex and childhood trauma or other early adverse events on aggression in a young adult sample.

The effect of tryptophan on the cortisol response to social stress is modulated by the 5-HTTLPR genotype.

Objective: The S'/S' (S/S, S/Lg and Lg/Lg) variant of the serotonin (5-HT) transporter gene linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) is associated with less efficient neurotransmission and may be more reactive to 5-HT manipulations. We tested the effects of l-tryptophan supplements on the cortisol response induced by a social stressor in S'/S' and L'/L' (La/La) carriers.

Methods: In a double-blind parallel design, 25 S'/S' carriers and 21 L'/L' carriers were randomised to take l-tryptophan (2.

Relationships among 5-HTT genotype, life events and gender in the recognition of facial emotions.

Accumulating evidence has shown that a polymorphism in the promoter region of the serotonin-transporter (5-HTTLPR) modulates neural activation during the perceptual processing of emotional facial expressions. Furthermore, behavioral research has shown that attentional bias for negative information is increased in s allele carriers. We examined the interactions among 5-HTTLPR (including SNP rs25531), life events and gender on the detection of facial emotions.