Individuals with overweight and obesity fail to suppress food-related memories? An fMRI study
Poster No:
925
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Yuan Gao1, Xiao Gao2
Institutions:
1Department of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 2Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing
First Author:
Co-Author:
Introduction:
As per the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity has now reached epidemic proportions and it is estimated that by 2030 over one billion adults worldwide will be obese. Obesity is associated with a higher frequency of food cravings. Here, we propose a new hypothesis that individuals with overweight or obesity may encounter difficulties in halting their contemplation of sensory memories when tempting thoughts intrude, which underscores the challenges they face in managing their cravings and dietary choices.
Methods:
This study included 36 young female students, with 18 having healthy BMI and 18 being overweight/obese. Participants completed questionnaires, provided ratings of food stimuli perceptual reward value, and performed the food Think/No-Think task in an fMRI session.
MRI data were collected on a Siemens Trio 3.0T scanner. BOLD images were acquired with EPI sequence during the Think/No-Think phase. FMRI data preprocessing and analysis were conducted using SPM12. Comparisons were made between Think and No-Think conditions. Seed regions of interest included inhibitory control areas of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. Memory areas included bilateral hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and fusiform gyrus. Accuracy of recalling the cued food and its location in the test phase was scored and entered into repeated-measures ANOVAs with conditions as within-subject variables and BMI group as between-subject variables. ROI analysis was conducted on fMRI data. Functional connectivity analysis was performed using generalized psychophysiological interaction models to estimate task-dependent connectivity between seeded frontal control regions and memory areas while controlling for task activation.
MRI data were collected on a Siemens Trio 3.0T scanner. BOLD images were acquired with EPI sequence during the Think/No-Think phase. FMRI data preprocessing and analysis were conducted using SPM12. Comparisons were made between Think and No-Think conditions. Seed regions of interest included inhibitory control areas of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and middle frontal gyrus. Memory areas included bilateral hippocampus, parahippocampal gyrus and fusiform gyrus. Accuracy of recalling the cued food and its location in the test phase was scored and entered into repeated-measures ANOVAs with conditions as within-subject variables and BMI group as between-subject variables. ROI analysis was conducted on fMRI data. Functional connectivity analysis was performed using generalized psychophysiological interaction models to estimate task-dependent connectivity between seeded frontal control regions and memory areas while controlling for task activation.
Results:
The healthy BMI group showed the typical pattern of greater recall accuracy for Think relative to No-Think items, demonstrating successful memory suppression. However, the overweight/obese group failed to show significant differences between Think and No-Think accuracy.
The inferior frontal gyrus was most activated in healthy BMI controls during No-Think trials, while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex dominated in overweight/obese. Overweight/obese had significantly greater activation in the right hippocampus dentate gyrus during No-Think trials compared to controls.
Functional connectivity results demonstrated connections between prefrontal inhibitory control seeds and memory areas in both groups, but there were qualitative differences. In healthy controls, multiple control regions including IFG, MFG and dlPFC all showed negative connectivity with hippocampus and other memory areas, indicating coordinated inhibitory signaling. Greater negative connectivity was associated with lower No-Think recall. In contrast, overweight/obese had positive connectivity between dlPFC and hippocampus, and behavior correlations showed this related to higher No-Think recall, indicating failed inhibition. Overweight/obese also differed by having connectivity between IFG and reward areas rather than memory regions.
The inferior frontal gyrus was most activated in healthy BMI controls during No-Think trials, while dorsolateral prefrontal cortex dominated in overweight/obese. Overweight/obese had significantly greater activation in the right hippocampus dentate gyrus during No-Think trials compared to controls.
Functional connectivity results demonstrated connections between prefrontal inhibitory control seeds and memory areas in both groups, but there were qualitative differences. In healthy controls, multiple control regions including IFG, MFG and dlPFC all showed negative connectivity with hippocampus and other memory areas, indicating coordinated inhibitory signaling. Greater negative connectivity was associated with lower No-Think recall. In contrast, overweight/obese had positive connectivity between dlPFC and hippocampus, and behavior correlations showed this related to higher No-Think recall, indicating failed inhibition. Overweight/obese also differed by having connectivity between IFG and reward areas rather than memory regions.
Conclusions:
Individuals with overweight/obesity demonstrated deficits in food-related memory suppression, alongside altered prefrontal activation and fronto-hippocampal connectivity patterns indicating impaired inhibitory control mechanisms. This expands existing evidence for inhibitory control impairments in overweight/obesity into the domain of memory suppression.
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Executive Function, Cognitive Control and Decision Making 1
Learning and Memory:
Long-Term Memory (Episodic and Semantic) 2
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI
Keywords:
Memory
Other - obesity, memory suppression
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
Provide references using author date format
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