Youth at Risk for Obesity Show Greater Activation of Striatal and Somatosensory Regions to Food
Stice E, Yokum S, Burger KS, Epstein LH, Small DM. Youth at Risk for Obesity Show Greater Activation of Striatal and Somatosensory Regions to Food. Journal Of Neuroscience 2011, 31: 4360-4366. PMID: 21430137, PMCID: PMC3260083, DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.6604-10.2011.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsNormal weight humansObese humansStriatal responsesFood intakeOrbitofrontal cortexDopamine signalingWeight gainInitial vulnerability factorsGenetic riskStriatal D2 receptorsMonetary rewardsNormal-weight adolescentsPalatable food intakeD2 receptor densityD2 receptorsHigh-risk youthParietal operculumReceptor densitySomatosensory regionsPalatable foodFoods contributesFrontal operculumReward circuitryReduced dopamineObesity