The Obese Brain Athlete: Self-Regulation of the Anterior Insula in Adiposity
Open Access
- 8 August 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Public Library of Science (PLoS) in PLOS ONE
- Vol. 7 (8), e42570
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0042570
Abstract
The anterior insular cortex (AIC) is involved in emotional processes and gustatory functions which can be examined by imaging techniques. Such imaging studies showed increased activation in the insula in response to food stimuli as well as a differential activation in lean and obese people. Additionally, studies investigating lean subjects established the voluntary regulation of the insula by a real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging-brain computer interface (rtfMRI-BCI) approach. In this exploratory study, 11 lean and 10 obese healthy, male participants were investigated in a rtfMRI-BCI protocol. During the training sessions, all obese participants were able to regulate the activity of the AIC voluntarily, while four lean participants were not able to regulate at all. In successful regulators, functional connectivity during regulation vs. relaxation between the AIC and all other regions of the brain was determined by a seed voxel approach. Lean in comparison to obese regulators showed stronger connectivity in cingular and temporal cortices during regulation. We conclude, that obese people possess an improved capacity to self-regulate the anterior insula, a brain system tightly related to bodily awareness and gustatory functions.This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- Psychological predictors of SMR-BCI performanceBiological Psychology, 2012
- Acquired self‐control of insula cortex modulates emotion recognition and brain network connectivity in schizophreniaHuman Brain Mapping, 2011
- Real-Time fMRIThe Neuroscientist, 2011
- Functional connectivity of the insula in the resting brainNeuroImage, 2011
- Body mass correlates inversely with inhibitory control in response to food among adolescent girls: An fMRI studyNeuroImage, 2010
- Processing of food pictures: Influence of hunger, gender and calorie contentBrain Research, 2010
- How do you feel — now? The anterior insula and human awarenessNature Reviews Neuroscience, 2009
- The modified Trait and State Food-Cravings Questionnaires: Development and validation of a general index of food cravingAppetite, 2007
- The Neural Substrate of Human Empathy: Effects of Perspective-taking and Cognitive AppraisalJournal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2007
- Neural mechanisms of autonomic, affective, and cognitive integrationJournal of Comparative Neurology, 2005