Obesity is associated with progressive brain structural changes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between obesity (OB) progression and brain structural changes.

Methods: T1-weighted magnetic resonance images were acquired from 258 participants with overweight (OW) or OB and 74 participants with normal weight. Participants with OW or OB were divided into four groups according to BMI grades.

Rest-Activity Rhythms, Their Modulators, and Brain-Clinical Correlates in Opioid Use Disorder.

Importance: Sleep and circadian disruptions are highly prevalent in opioid use disorder (OUD) and are a barrier to successful treatment and recovery; yet few objective data are available, especially for individuals in OUD treatment with opioid agonist therapy. If disruptions remain present despite OUD treatment, this information would yield potential new targets for adjunctive therapy.

Objective: To systematically investigate different aspects of rest-activity rhythms (RAR), including sleep, physical activity, circadian rhythmicity, and brain functional correlates in individuals with OUD.

The Limbic System in Co-Occurring Substance Use and Anxiety Disorders: A Narrative Review Using the RDoC Framework.

Substance use disorders (SUDs) and anxiety disorders (ADs) are highly comorbid, a co-occurrence linked to worse clinical outcomes than either condition alone. While the neurobiological mechanisms involved in SUDs and anxiety disorders are intensively studied separately, the mechanisms underlying their comorbidity remain an emerging area of interest. This narrative review explores the neurobiological processes underlying this comorbidity, using the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework to map disruptions in positive valence, negative valence, and cognitive systems across the three stages of the addiction cycle: binge/intoxication, withdrawal/negative affect, and preoccupation/anticipation.

Reduced brain network segregation in alcohol use disorder: Associations with neurocognition.

The human brain consists of functionally segregated networks, characterized by strong connections among regions belonging to the same network and weak connections between those of different networks. Alcohol use disorder (AUD) is associated with premature brain aging and neurocognitive impairments. Given the link between decreased brain network segregation and age-related cognitive decline, we hypothesized lower brain segregation in patients with AUD than healthy controls (HCs).

FTO variant is associated with changes in BMI, ghrelin, and brain function following bariatric surgery.

BACKGROUNDA polymorphism in the fat mass and obesity-associated gene (FTO) is linked to enhanced neural sensitivity to food cues and attenuated ghrelin suppression. Risk allele carriers regain more weight than noncarriers after bariatric surgery. It remains unclear how FTO variation affects brain function and ghrelin following surgery.

Seasonality in regional brain glucose metabolism.

Background: Daylength and the rates of changes in daylength have been associated with seasonal fluctuations in psychiatric symptoms and in cognition and mood in healthy adults. However, variations in human brain glucose metabolism in concordance with seasonal changes remain under explored.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we examined seasonal effects on brain glucose metabolism, which we measured using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-PET in 97 healthy participants.

Ketogenic diet reduces a neurobiological craving signature in inpatients with alcohol use disorder.

Background And Aims: Increasing evidence suggests that a ketogenic (high-fat, low-carbohydrate) diet (KD) intervention reduces alcohol withdrawal severity and alcohol craving in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) by shifting brain energetics from glucose to ketones. We hypothesized that the KD would reduce a neurobiological craving signature when individuals undergoing alcohol detoxification treatment were exposed to alcohol cues.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of functional magnetic resonance data of 33 adults with an AUD who were randomized to a KD ( = 19) or a standard American diet (SA;  = 14) and underwent 3 weeks of inpatient alcohol detoxification treatment.

Brain connectivity changes to fast versus slow dopamine increases.

The rewarding effects of stimulant drugs such as methylphenidate (MP) depend crucially on how fast they raise dopamine in the brain. Yet how the rate of drug-induced dopamine increases impacts brain network communication remains unresolved. We manipulated route of MP administration to generate fast versus slow dopamine increases.

Neuroimaging in Adolescents: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Risk for Substance Use Disorders.

Trauma in childhood and adolescence has long-term negative consequences in brain development and behavior and increases the risk for psychiatric disorders. Among them, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during adolescence illustrates the connection between trauma and substance misuse, as adolescents may utilize substances to cope with PTSD. Drug misuse may in turn lead to neuroadaptations in learning processes that facilitate the consolidation of traumatic memories that perpetuate PTSD.

Neural circuit selective for fast but not slow dopamine increases in drug reward.

The faster a drug enters the brain, the greater its addictive potential, yet the brain circuits underlying the rate dependency to drug reward remain unresolved. With simultaneous PET-fMRI we linked dynamics of dopamine signaling, brain activity/connectivity, and self-reported 'high' in 20 adults receiving methylphenidate orally (results in slow delivery) and intravenously (results in fast delivery) (trial NCT03326245). We estimated speed of striatal dopamine increases to oral and IV methylphenidate and then tested where brain activity was associated with slow and fast dopamine dynamics (primary endpoint).

Disrupted brain state dynamics in opioid and alcohol use disorder: attenuation by nicotine use.

Substance use disorder (SUD) is a chronic relapsing disorder with long-lasting changes in brain intrinsic networks. While most research to date has focused on static functional connectivity, less is known about the effect of chronic drug use on dynamics of brain networks. Here we investigated brain state dynamics in individuals with opioid use (OUD) and alcohol use disorder (AUD) and assessed how concomitant nicotine use, which is frequent among individuals with OUD and AUD, affects brain dynamics.

Neurological, Behavioral, and Pathophysiological Characterization of the Co-Occurrence of Substance Use and HIV: A Narrative Review.

Combined antiretroviral therapy (cART) has greatly reduced the severity of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders in people living with HIV (PLWH); however, PLWH are more likely than the general population to use drugs and suffer from substance use disorders (SUDs) and to exhibit risky behaviors that promote HIV transmission and other infections. Dopamine-boosting psychostimulants such as cocaine and methamphetamine are some of the most widely used substances among PLWH. Chronic use of these substances disrupts brain function, structure, and cognition.

Ketogenic diet reduces a neurobiological craving signature in alcohol use disorder.

Background And Aims: Increasing evidence suggests that a ketogenic (high-fat, low-carbohydrate) diet intervention reduces alcohol withdrawal severity and alcohol craving in individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) by shifting brain energetics from glucose to ketones. We hypothesized that the ketogenic diet would reduce a brain craving signature when individuals undergoing alcohol detoxification treatment were exposed to alcohol cues.

Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of functional magnetic resonance data of n=33 adults with an AUD were randomized to a ketogenic diet (n=19) or a standard American diet (n=14) and underwent three weeks of inpatient alcohol detoxification treatment.

Association between body mass index and treatment completion in extended-release naltrexone-treated patients with opioid dependence.

Background: Excessive consumption of opioids is associated with impaired metabolic function including increased body mass index (BMI). Opioid antagonist naltrexone (NTX) is an effective treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) that has the potential to mitigate such metabolic disturbances. Understanding the relationship between treatment adherence and BMI in NTX-treated OUD patients may provide valuable insights into optimizing clinical outcomes.

Associations between body mass index, sleep-disordered breathing, brain structure, and behavior in healthy children.

Pediatric overweight/obesity can lead to sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), abnormal neurological and cognitive development, and psychiatric problems, but the associations and interactions between these factors have not been fully explored. Therefore, we investigated the associations between body mass index (BMI), SDB, psychiatric and cognitive measures, and brain morphometry in 8484 children 9-11 years old using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development dataset. BMI was positively associated with SDB, and both were negatively correlated with cortical thickness in lingual gyrus and lateral orbitofrontal cortex, and cortical volumes in postcentral gyrus, precentral gyrus, precuneus, superior parietal lobule, and insula.

An autonomic mode of brain activity.

The relevance of interactions between autonomic and central nervous systems remains unclear for human brain function and health, particularly when both systems are challenged under sleep deprivation (SD). We measured brain activity (with fMRI), pulse and respiratory signals, and baseline brain amyloid beta burden (with PET) in healthy participants. We found that SD relative to rested wakefulness (RW) resulted in a significant increase in synchronized low frequency (LF, < 0.

Habenula Volume and Functional Connectivity Changes Following Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy for Obesity Treatment.

Background: Neuroimaging studies have revealed alterations in habenular (Hb) structure and functional connectivity (FC) in psychiatric conditions. The Hb plays a particularly critical role in regulating negative emotions, which trigger excessive food intake and obesity. However, obesity and weight loss intervention (i.

Preterm birth associated alterations in brain structure, cognitive functioning and behavior in children from the ABCD dataset.

Background: Preterm birth is a global health problem and associated with increased risk of long-term developmental impairments, but findings on the adverse outcomes of prematurity have been inconsistent.

Methods: Data were obtained from the baseline session of the ongoing longitudinal Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. We identified 1706 preterm children and 1865 matched individuals as Control group and compared brain structure (MRI data), cognitive function and mental health symptoms.

Neural correlates of decreased impulsivity during delay discounting task after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

Objective: The goal of this study was to investigate laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy (LSG)-induced changes in choice impulsivity and the neural correlates in individuals with obesity (OB).

Methods: The study employed functional magnetic resonance imaging with a delay discounting task in 29 OB tested before and 1 month after LSG. Thirty participants with normal weight matched to OB with gender and age were recruited as the control group and underwent an identical functional magnetic resonance imaging scan.