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Neuroendocrinological mechanisms underlying impulsive and compulsive behaviors in obesity: a narrative review of fMRI studies

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Abstract

Impulsivity and compulsivity are multidimensional constructs that are increasingly considered determinants of obesity. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have provided insight on how differences in brain response during tasks exploring facets of impulsivity and compulsivity relate to the ingestive behaviors that support the etiology and maintenance of obesity. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of neuroimaging studies exploring impulsivity and compulsivity factors as they relate to weight status. Special focus will be placed on studies examining the impulsivity-related dimensions of attentional bias, delayed gratification and emotion regulation. Discussions of compulsivity within the context of obesity will be restricted to fMRI studies investigating habit formation and response flexibility under shifting contingencies. Further, we will highlight neuroimaging research demonstrating how alterations in neuroendocrine functioning are linked to excessive food intake and may serve as a driver of the impulsive and compulsive behaviors observed in obesity. Research on the associations between brain response with neuroendocrine factors, such as insulin, peptide YY (PYY), leptin, ghrelin and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), will be reviewed.

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Funding

This study is a result of the SLT006/17/00246 grant, funded by the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya by the call “Acció instrumental de programes de recerca orientats en l’àmbit de la recerca i la innovació en salut”. We thank CERCA Programme / Generalitat de Catalunya for institutional support. This work was also supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI17/01167, PI13/01958, and PI16/00889). CIBER Fisiopatología de la Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBERobn) and CIBER Salud Mental (CIBERsam) are initiatives of ISCIII. C.S-M. is funded by a ‘Miguel Servet’ contract from the Carlos III Health Institute (CPII16/00048). Partial funding support was received by EU (H2020; Eat2beNICE- Ref 728,018).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital-IDIBELL, c/ Feixa Llarga s/n, 08907 L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

    Trevor Steward, Romina Miranda-Olivos, Carles Soriano-Mas & Fernando Fernández-Aranda

  2. Ciber Fisiopatologia Obesidad y Nutrición (CIBEROBN), Instituto Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain

    Trevor Steward, Romina Miranda-Olivos & Fernando Fernández-Aranda

  3. Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia

    Trevor Steward

  4. Department of Psychobiology and Methodology in Health Sciences, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

    Carles Soriano-Mas

  5. Ciber de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto Salud Carlos III, Barcelona, Spain

    Carles Soriano-Mas

  6. Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Fernando Fernández-Aranda

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  1. Trevor Steward
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  2. Romina Miranda-Olivos
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Correspondence to Carles Soriano-Mas or Fernando Fernández-Aranda.

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Trevor Steward and Romina Miranda-Olivos shared first authorship.

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Steward, T., Miranda-Olivos, R., Soriano-Mas, C. et al. Neuroendocrinological mechanisms underlying impulsive and compulsive behaviors in obesity: a narrative review of fMRI studies. Rev Endocr Metab Disord 20, 263–272 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11154-019-09515-x

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