Project Content:
Fat intake is one crucial factor contributing to obesity. Thus, the aim of this project is to unravel the brain’s processing of fatty foods. To this end, we use different designs to investigate neuronal activation pattern changes due to the intake of meals containing different amounts of fat. For such studies, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging methods allowing for a detailed regional analyses of activation patterns. The main neuronal target is the hypothalamus, the major homeostatic control region in our brain. In line of the project’s studies, we saw hypothalamic action decreasing after a high-fat meal compared to a low-fat meal. Additionally, hedonic gustatory regions seem to be differentially activated after the ingestion of high- vs. low-fat meals. Currently running, we aim to unravel the exact time course of such reactions with a meal ingestion design during scanning.
Project Supervisor:
Funding:
Previous studies funded by the Else-Kröner-Fresenius Foundation