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Integrative Biology

The central nervous norepinephrine network links a diminished sense of emotional well-being to an increased body weight

International Journal of Obesity volume 40, pages 779–787 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives:

The neurobiological mechanisms linking obesity to emotional distress remain largely undiscovered.

Methods:

In this pilot study, we combined positron emission tomography, using the norepinephrine transporter (NET) tracer [11C]-O-methylreboxetine, with functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging, the Beck depression inventory (BDI), and the impact of weight on quality of life–Lite questionnaire (IWQOL–Lite), to investigate the role of norepinephrine in the severity of depression (BDI), as well as in the loss of emotional well-being with body weight (IWQOL–Lite).

Results:

In a small group of lean-to-morbidly obese individuals (n=20), we show that an increased body mass index (BMI) is related to a lowered NET availability within the hypothalamus, known as the brain’s homeostatic control site. The hypothalamus displayed a strengthened connectivity in relation to the individual hypothalamic NET availability to the anterior insula/frontal operculum, as well as the medial orbitofrontal cortex, assumed to host the primary and secondary gustatory cortex, respectively (n=19). The resting-state activity in these two regions was correlated positively to the BMI and IWQOL–Lite scores, but not to the BDI, suggesting that the higher the resting-state activity in these regions, and hence the higher the BMI, the stronger the negative impact of the body weight on the individual’s emotional well-being was.

Conclusions:

This pilot study suggests that the loss in emotional well-being with weight is embedded within the central norepinephrine network.

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Acknowledgements

This study is supported by the IFB Adiposity Diseases, Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), Germany, FKZ: 01E01001 (http://www.bmbf.de) and the German Research Foundation (DFG) (http://www.dfg.de), within the framework of the CRC 1052 Obesity Mechanisms (to project A6 and BP). We thank Shameem Wagner for proof reading the final version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. IFB Adiposity Diseases, University Medical Centre, Leipzig, Germany

    J Melasch, M Rullmann, A Hilbert, A Villringer, O Sabri, S Hesse & B Pleger

  2. Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    J Melasch, M Rullmann, J Luthardt, G A Becker, M Patt, P M Meyer, O Sabri & S Hesse

  3. Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany

    A Villringer, K Arelin, K Müller & B Pleger

  4. Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    A Villringer, K Arelin & B Pleger

  5. Department of Radiology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    D Lobsien

  6. Department of Radiology, Psychiatry, and Chemistry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, USA

    Y-S Ding

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  1. J Melasch
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Correspondence to B Pleger.

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Melasch, J., Rullmann, M., Hilbert, A. et al. The central nervous norepinephrine network links a diminished sense of emotional well-being to an increased body weight. Int J Obes 40, 779–787 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijo.2015.216

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