Obesity is associated with high serotonin 4 receptor availability in the brain reward circuitry

The neurobiology underlying obesity is not fully understood. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) is established as a satiety-generating signal, but its rewarding role in feeding is less well elucidated. From animal experiments there is now evidence that the 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4R) is involved in f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:NeuroImage (Orlando, Fla.) Fla.), 2012-07, Vol.61 (4), p.884-888
Main Authors: Haahr, M.E., Rasmussen, P.M., Madsen, K., Marner, L., Ratner, C., Gillings, N., Baaré, W.F.C., Knudsen, G.M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Brain
Brain - diagnostic imaging
Brain - metabolism
Eating - physiology
Female
Humans
Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted
Male
Middle Aged
Neuroimaging
Obesity
Obesity - metabolism
PET
Positron-Emission Tomography
Receptors, Serotonin, 5-HT4 - metabolism
Reward
Rodents
Serotonin 4 receptor
Studies
Young Adult
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Summary:The neurobiology underlying obesity is not fully understood. The neurotransmitter serotonin (5-HT) is established as a satiety-generating signal, but its rewarding role in feeding is less well elucidated. From animal experiments there is now evidence that the 5-HT4 receptor (5-HT4R) is involved in food intake, and that pharmacological or genetic manipulation of the receptor in reward-related brain areas alters food intake. Here, we used positron emission tomography in humans to examine the association between cerebral 5-HT4Rs and common obesity. We found in humans a strong positive association between body mass index and the 5-HT4R density bilaterally in the two reward ‘hot spots’ nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum, and additionally in the left hippocampal region and orbitofrontal cortex. These findings suggest that the 5-HT4R is critically involved in reward circuits that regulate people's food intake. They also suggest that pharmacological stimulation of the cerebral 5-HT4R may reduce reward-related overeating in humans. ► The 5-HT4R correlates positively with BMI in the brain reward circuitry. ► The correlation is mainly observed in nucleus accumbens and ventral pallidum. ► Pharmacological 5-HT4R stimulation could relieve reward-related overeating in humans.
ISSN:1053-8119
1095-9572
DOI:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.03.050