[HTML][HTML] Correlation of tryptophan metabolites with connectivity of extended central reward network in healthy subjects
PloS one, 2018•journals.plos.org
Objective A growing body of preclinical and clinical literature suggests that brain-gut-
microbiota interactions play an important role in human health and disease, including
hedonic food intake and obesity. We performed a tripartite network analysis based on graph
theory to test the hypothesis that microbiota-derived fecal metabolites are associated with
connectivity of key regions of the brain's extended reward network and clinical measures
related to obesity. Methods DTI and resting state fMRI imaging was obtained from 63 healthy …
microbiota interactions play an important role in human health and disease, including
hedonic food intake and obesity. We performed a tripartite network analysis based on graph
theory to test the hypothesis that microbiota-derived fecal metabolites are associated with
connectivity of key regions of the brain's extended reward network and clinical measures
related to obesity. Methods DTI and resting state fMRI imaging was obtained from 63 healthy …
Objective
A growing body of preclinical and clinical literature suggests that brain-gut-microbiota interactions play an important role in human health and disease, including hedonic food intake and obesity. We performed a tripartite network analysis based on graph theory to test the hypothesis that microbiota-derived fecal metabolites are associated with connectivity of key regions of the brain’s extended reward network and clinical measures related to obesity.
Methods
DTI and resting state fMRI imaging was obtained from 63 healthy subjects with and without elevated body mass index (BMI) (29 males and 34 females). Subjects submitted fecal samples, completed questionnaires to assess anxiety and food addiction, and BMI was recorded.
Results
The study results demonstrate associations between fecal microbiota-derived indole metabolites (indole, indoleacetic acid, and skatole) with measures of functional and anatomical connectivity of the amygdala, nucleus accumbens, and anterior insula, in addition to BMI, food addiction scores (YFAS) and anxiety symptom scores (HAD Anxiety).
Conclusions
The findings support the hypothesis that gut microbiota-derived indole metabolites may influence hedonic food intake and obesity by acting on the extended reward network, specifically the amygdala-nucleus accumbens circuit and the amygdala-anterior insula circuit. These cross sectional, data-driven results provide valuable information for future mechanistic studies.
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