The effects of high-intensity exercise on neural responses to images of food

Crabtree, Daniel R; Chambers, Edward S; Hardwick, Robert M; Blannin, Andrew K

Abstract

Background: Acute bouts of high-intensity exercise modulate peripheral appetite regulating hormones to transiently suppress hunger. However, the effects of physical activity on central appetite regulation have yet to be fully investigated.
Objective: We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to compare neural responses to visual food stimuli after intense exercise and rest.
Design: Fifteen lean healthy men [mean ± SD age: 22.5 ± 3.1 y; mean ± SD body mass index (in kg/m2): 24.2 ± 2.4] completed two 60-min trials—exercise (EX; running at ∼70% maximum aerobic capacity) and a resting control trial (REST)—in a counterbalanced order. After each trial, an fMRI assessment was completed in which images of high- and low-calorie foods were viewed.
Results: EX significantly suppressed subjective appetite responses while increasing thirst and core-body temperature. Furthermore, EX significantly suppressed ghrelin concentrations and significantly enhanced peptide YY release. Neural responses to images of high-calorie foods significantly increased dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation and suppressed orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and hippocampus activation after EX compared with REST. After EX, low-calorie food images increased insula and putamen activation and reduced OFC activation compared with REST. Furthermore, left pallidum activity was significantly elevated after EX when low-calorie images were viewed and was suppressed when high-calorie images were viewed, and these responses correlated significantly with thirst.
Conclusions: Exercise increases neural responses in reward-related regions of the brain in response to images of low-calorie foods and suppresses activation during the viewing of high-calorie foods. These central responses are associated with exercise-induced changes in peripheral signals related to appetite-regulation and hydration status. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01926431.

Citation

Crabtree, D. R., Chambers, E. S., Hardwick, R. M., & Blannin, A. K. (2014). The effects of high-intensity exercise on neural responses to images of food. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 99(2), 258-267. https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.071381

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 12, 2013
• Online Publication Date: Dec 4, 2013
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: Jan 17, 2017
• Journal: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
• Print ISSN: 0002-9165
• Electronic ISSN: 1938-3207
• Publisher: American Society for Nutrition
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 99
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 258-267
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3945/ajcn.113.071381
• Keywords: Intense exercise, neural response, food stimuli, appetite regulation, hydration,
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/464112