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What Twin Studies Tell Us About Brain Responses to Food Cues

  • Metabolism (CJ Billington, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using visual food cues provides insight into brain regulation of appetite in humans. This review sought evidence for genetic determinants of these responses.

Recent Findings

Echoing behavioral studies of food cue responsiveness, twin study approaches detect significant inherited influences on brain response to food cues. Both polygenic (whole genome) factors and polymorphisms in single genes appear to impact appetite regulation, particularly in brain regions related to satiety perception. Furthermore, genetic confounding might underlie findings linking obesity to stereotypical response patterns on fMRI, i.e., associations with obesity may actually reflect underlying inherited susceptibilities rather than acquired levels of adiposity.

Summary

Insights from twin studies show that genes powerfully influence brain regulation of appetite, emphasizing the role of inherited susceptibility factors in obesity risk. Future research to delineate mechanisms of inherited obesity risk could lead to novel or more targeted interventional approaches.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants R01DK089036 and R01DK098466.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, 325 Ninth Ave, Box 359780, Seattle, WA, 98104-2420, USA

    Ellen Schur

  2. Johns Hopkins University, 600 N. Wolfe Street, Phipps 300, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    Susan Carnell

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  1. Ellen Schur
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Correspondence to Ellen Schur.

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Ellen Schur and Susan Carnell declare they have no conflict of interest.

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All reported studies/experiments with human subjects performed by the authors have been previously published and complied with all applicable ethical standards (including the Helsinki Declaration and its amendments, institutional/national research committee standards, and international/national/institutional guidelines).

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Metabolism

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Schur, E., Carnell, S. What Twin Studies Tell Us About Brain Responses to Food Cues. Curr Obes Rep 6, 371–379 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-017-0282-7

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