The central nervous norepinephrine network links a diminished sense of emotional well-being to an increased body weight.

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The central nervous norepinephrine network links a diminished sense of emotional well-being to an increased body weight.

Int J Obes (Lond). 2016 May;40(5):779-87

Authors: Melasch J, Rullmann M, Hilbert A, Luthardt J, Becker GA, Patt M, Villringer A, Arelin K, Meyer PM, Lobsien D, Ding YS, Müller K, Sabri O, Hesse S, Pleger B

Abstract
OBJECTIVES: The neurobiological mechanisms linking obesity to emotional distress remain largely undiscovered.
METHODS: In this pilot study, we combined positron emission tomography, using the norepinephrine transporter (NET) tracer [(11)C]-O-methylreboxetine, with functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging, the Beck depression inventory (BDI), and the impact of weight on quality of life-Lite questionnaire (IWQOL-Lite), to investigate the role of norepinephrine in the severity of depression (BDI), as well as in the loss of emotional well-being with body weight (IWQOL-Lite).
RESULTS: In a small group of lean-to-morbidly obese individuals (n=20), we show that an increased body mass index (BMI) is related to a lowered NET availability within the hypothalamus, known as the brain's homeostatic control site. The hypothalamus displayed a strengthened connectivity in relation to the individual hypothalamic NET availability to the anterior insula/frontal operculum, as well as the medial orbitofrontal cortex, assumed to host the primary and secondary gustatory cortex, respectively (n=19). The resting-state activity in these two regions was correlated positively to the BMI and IWQOL-Lite scores, but not to the BDI, suggesting that the higher the resting-state activity in these regions, and hence the higher the BMI, the stronger the negative impact of the body weight on the individual's emotional well-being was.
CONCLUSIONS: This pilot study suggests that the loss in emotional well-being with weight is embedded within the central norepinephrine network.

PMID: 26620766 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

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