Hierarchical integrated processing of reward-related regions in obese males: A graph-theoretical-based study.

Abnormal activities in reward-related regions are associated with overeating or obesity. Preliminary studies have shown that changes in neural activity in obesity include not only regional reward regions abnormalities but also impairments in the communication between reward-related regions and multiple functional areas. A recent study has shown that the transitions between different neural networks are nonrandom and hierarchical, and that activation of particular brain networks is more likely to occur after other brain networks.

Integration of Neural Reward Processing and Appetite-Related Signaling in Obese Females: Evidence From Resting-State fMRI.

Background: The reward-related regions have been considered a crucial component in the regulation of eating behavior. Furthermore, appetite-related regions associated with reward can influence eating behaviors through altered functional activity related to food in brain areas associated with emotion, memory, sensory processing, motor function, and cognitive control.

Purpose: To investigate the key nodes in obese females of reward-related regions and, based on key nodes, to evaluate the directionality of functional connectivity between key nodes and appetite-related regions.