Obesity is an important global health factor due to associated comorbidities and its pervasive occurrence. In my thesis, I aimed to contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms that underlie obesity development as well as its adverse consequences in the brain. Both studies analyzed subsets of the LIFE-Adult study, a deeply-phenotyped, cross-sectional cohort study based on the general population of Leipzig. In the first study, I investigated the association of compulsive eating, a specific type of obesity-associated eating behavior, body mass index (BMI) and gray matter structure. Compulsive eating behavior, was selectively associated with cortical thickness of the right lateral orbitofrontal cortex, a region important for impulse control. Higher BMI was related to widespread reductions of cortical thickness. Orbitofrontal cortex structure may therefore predict compulsive eating behavior, while higher BMI is associated with decreased cortical thickness even in young and middle-aged adults. In the second study, I focused on the link between BMI, functional brain networks and cognitive function in older adults. Here, higher BMI was related to reduced connectivity of the default mode network, a network of brain regions known as a biomarker of aging and dementia. This finding demonstrates that functional connectivity may be an biomarker allowing to detect obesity-associated brain changes at an early stage.
Taken together, these findings support the view of obesity as a risk factor for brain health. Yet, more longitudinal studies are needed to confirm this and reveal the underlying mechanisms.:List of Abbreviations i
Table of Figures ii
1. Introduction 1
1.1 Central regulation of food intake 1
1.2 Characteristics of addictive-like eating behavior 3
1.3 Obesity as a risk factor for brain damage and cognitive decline 5
1.4 Assessment of brain structure and function with magnetic resonance imaging 8
1.4.1 A very short introduction to MRI 8
1.4.2 Structural MRI: Measuring the size and shape of the brain 8
1.4.3 Resting state functional MRI: Investigating the intrinsic brain architecture 10
2. Published studies 12
2.1 Neuroanatomical correlates of food addiction symptoms and body mass index in the general population 12
2.2 Higher body mass index is associated with reduced posterior default mode connectivity in older adults 24
3. Summary 38
References 43
Appendix 54
Supplementary Information for “Neuroanatomical correlates of food addiction symptoms and body mass index in the general population” 54
Author contributions to the publication “Neuroanatomical correlates of food addiction and body mass index in the general population” 59
Author contributions to the publication “Higher body mass index is associated with reduced posterior default mode connectivity in older adults” 60
Declaration of Authenticity 61
Curriculum Vitae 62
List of publications 63
List of conference contributions 65
Acknowledgments 66
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:DRESDEN/oai:qucosa:de:qucosa:38627 |
| Date | 04 March 2020 |
| Creators | Beyer, Frauke |
| Contributors | Universität Leipzig |
| Source Sets | Hochschulschriftenserver (HSSS) der SLUB Dresden |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersion, doc-type:doctoralThesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis, doc-type:Text |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
| Relation | 10.1002/hbm.24557, 10.1002/hbm.23605 |
Page generated in 0.0017 seconds