Neuroscience of human food perception and eating behavior

National Institute Of Diabetes And Digestive And Kidney Diseases

Investigators

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Abstract

Our research uses neuroimaging to investigate the brain's reward circuitry and its response to food stimuli with the aim of better understanding human eating behavior and susceptibility to obesity. We have found that the dopamine binding potential in the dorsolateral striatum is related to opportunistic eating behavior and obesity. Furthermore, blood glucose levels influence the activity of a brain region that processes taste information (i.e., the insula) in response to viewing food images. We also identifed the regions of the brain (i.e., the ventral pallidum and the orbitofrontal cortex) that support inferences about food pleasantness. These brain regions are likely to play a central role in the moment-to-moment hedonic inferences that influence food-related decision-making.