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Hesse, S.* ; Rullmann, M.* ; Günnewig, T.* ; Schweickert de Palma, E.* ; Burmeister, L.* ; van Grinsven, M.* ; Zientek, F.* ; Luthardt, J.* ; Hankir, M.K.* ; Meyer, P.M.* ; Becker, G.A.* ; Patt, M.* ; Brust, P.* ; Pleger, B.* ; Stumvoll, M.* ; Hilbert, A.* ; Blüher, M. ; Sabri, O.*

Cholinergic network modulation in disinhibited eating behavior.

Comm. Biol. 8:1347 (2025)
Publ. Version/Full Text Research data DOI PMC
Open Access Gold
Creative Commons Lizenzvertrag
Cholinergic modulation of brain reward circuitry appears to play a crucial role in information processing about salience as a key biological mechanism in obesity. However, changes in acetylcholine transmission leading to abnormal eating behavior have not been demonstrated in vivo in human obesity. Using simultaneous positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found an increased α4β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChR) availability in response to visually salient food cues in twenty individuals with obesity, particularly in those with high disinhibited eating behavior, whereas there was no change in sixteen volunteers served as normal weight control. This increase was accompanied by a shift from dorsal attention network activation in normal-weight controls to salience network activation in individuals with obesity indicating fundamental differences in sensory cue detection. These data should encourage further investigations into α4β2* nAChR in obesity, particularly with regard to treatment with nicotinic receptor agonists for weight loss targeting hedonic overeating.
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Publication type Article: Journal article
Document type Scientific Article
Keywords Food-cue Reactivity; Acetylcholine-receptors; Nicotinic Receptors; Reward; Addiction; Obesity; Mechanisms; Pathways; Smoking
ISSN (print) / ISBN 2399-3642
e-ISSN 2399-3642
Journal Communications Biology
Quellenangaben Volume: 8, Issue: 1, Pages: , Article Number: 1347 Supplement: ,
Publisher Springer
Publishing Place London
Reviewing status Peer reviewed
Institute(s) Helmholtz Institute for Metabolism, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG)
Grants Projekt DEAL
Leipzig University
Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany