Overweight/obese females exhibited lower accuracy to low-calorie food cues and stronger excitatory connectivity from the right IFG to the mPFC compared to normal-weight females.
Cross-Sectional (n=51)
Overweight/obese individuals exhibit altered neural connectivity in the IFG-mPFC circuit during food inhibitory control, which mediates their daily eating behaviors.
• OWs performed worse than NWs during the food inhibitory control task. • OWs showed greater activation in the left hippocampus than NWs. • Stronger excitatory effective connectivity from right IFG to mPFC in OWs than NWs. • OWs were more likely to succumb to food desires during the 13:00–17:00 period. • Effective connectivity mediated the effect of accuracy on daily eating behaviors. This study investigates the differences in effective neural connections during food inhibitory control between individuals with overweight/obesity (OW/OB) and those with normal weight (NW), and examines how these neural differences relate to daily eating behaviors. Fifty-one female participants were classified into OW/OB (BMI ≥ 25 kg/m²) or NW (BMI 18–22 kg/m²) groups. Participants completed a modified food-specific go/no-go task with working memory load during fMRI scanning. Neural connectivity was analyzed using dynamic causal modelling (DCM). Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was used to collect real-time data on eating behaviors over one week. The OW/OB group showed lower accuracy in responding to low-calorie food cues and greater activation in the left hippocampus during no-go trials with high-calorie foods. DCM revealed stronger excitatory connectivity from the right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and stronger inhibitory connectivity from the mPFC to the dorsal caudate, as well as from the dorsal caudate to the left hippocampus in the OW/OB group. EMA results indicated that the OW/OB group was more likely to succumb to food desires between 13:00 and 17:00. Mediation analysis confirmed that effective connectivity mediated the relationship between task performance and daily eating behaviors. These findings elucidate the neural mechanisms underlying food inhibitory control in OW/OB individuals, highlighting the role of the hippocampus and the IFG–mPFC circuit. The study provides theoretical advances within the dual-system framework and suggests that targeting these neural pathways may improve dietary control in obesity.
Liu et al. (Wed,) conducted a cross-sectional in Overweight/obesity (n=51). Overweight/obesity vs. Normal weight was evaluated on Effective neural connections during food inhibitory control and daily eating behaviors. Overweight/obese females exhibited lower accuracy to low-calorie food cues and stronger excitatory connectivity from the right IFG to the mPFC compared to normal-weight females.