Cellular density in a reward-related brain region called the nucleus accumbens is associated with obesity in children and predicts weight gain, a study finds. More than one-third of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese, and are therefore at greater risk of developing a variety of illnesses. Previous studies have suggested that the nucleus accumbens is associated with unhealthy eating, but the neurobiological mechanisms underlying weight gain early in life are unclear. Richard Watts and colleagues used MRI to assess the link between the tissue microstructure of the brain and obesity and weight gain in nine-year-old and 10-year-old children. Among the baseline cohort of 5,366 participants, cellular density in the nucleus accumbens was positively associated with waist circumference. Moreover, higher cellular density in the nucleus accumbens at baseline predicted greater increases in waist circumference in a subset of 2,133 participants 1 year later. Taken together with previous findings, the results suggest that a vicious cycle of unhealthy eating and inflammation in the brain's reward circuitry may contribute to obesity and weight gain in childhood.
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Article #20-07918: "Nucleus accumbens cytoarchitecture predicts weight gain in children," by Kristina M. Rapuano et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Richard Watts, Yale University, New Haven, CT; tel: 802-829-9123; e-mail: < richard.watts@yale.edu >
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences