Brain dopamine is associated with eating behaviors in humans

Objective Eating behavior in humans is influenced by variables other than just hunger‐satiety including cognitive restraint, emotional distress, and sensitivity to food stimuli. We investigate the role of dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter involved with food motivation, in these variables. Methods We...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The International journal of eating disorders 2003-03, Vol.33 (2), p.136-142
Main Authors: Volkow, Nora D., Wang, Gene-Jack, Maynard, Laurence, Jayne, Millard, Fowler, Joanna S., Zhu, Wei, Logan, Jean, Gatley, S. John, Ding, Yu-Shin, Wong, Christopher, Pappas, Naomi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Behavior
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain
brain dopamine
Cerebellum - metabolism
Corpus Striatum - metabolism
Diet
Dopamine - metabolism
Dopamine Antagonists
eating behaviors
Eating disorders
Feeding Behavior - physiology
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Male
neurobiologic processes
Neurology
Neurotransmission and behavior
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Raclopride
Receptors, Dopamine D2 - metabolism
restraint
Surveys and Questionnaires
Tomography, Emission-Computed
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Summary:Objective Eating behavior in humans is influenced by variables other than just hunger‐satiety including cognitive restraint, emotional distress, and sensitivity to food stimuli. We investigate the role of dopamine (DA), a neurotransmitter involved with food motivation, in these variables. Methods We used the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) to measure Restraint, Emotionality, and Externality in 10 subjects. We correlated DEBQ scores with brain DA levels. Positron emission tomography and {11C}raclopride uptake were used to measure baseline D2 receptors (neutral stimulation) and to assess changes in extracellular DA to food stimulation (display of food). Results Restraint was correlated with DA changes with food stimulation (higher restraint, greater responsivity), emotionality was negatively correlated with baseline D2 receptors (higher emotionality, lower D2 receptors), whereas externality was not. These correlations were significant in the dorsal but not in the ventral striatum. Discussion These results provide evidence that DA in the dorsal striatum is involved with the restraint and emotionality components regulating eating behavior and that these two dimensions reflect different neurobiologic processes. © 2003 by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Int J Eat Disord 33: 136–142, 2003.
ISSN:0276-3478
1098-108X
DOI:10.1002/eat.10118